9/22/2017
We started this week off by researching existing direct current stimulators and studies that have been done on their efficacy. We also searched through the US Patent Office database for any device related to ours. The nearest thing that we found was a bone stimulator that was never brought to market. This stimulator converted ultrasonic pulses into electrical stimulation. After further investigation, we found that the screw that was used had a much larger diameter than atypical pedicle screw, so as to house the circuitry internally. It was not anodized and thus, was unable to direct the stimulation to a specific area. Furthermore, nothing could be found about the technology used to generate the ultrasonic pulses, or the manner in which they were converted into effective stimulation.
Our client, Dr. MacEwan, provided us with four papers to kick off our literature search. After reading these papers, we got together as a group to discuss our impressions of the papers and questions that we had. Certain questions arose that we plan to discuss with Dr. MacEwan at our meeting this weekend.
We decided on a weekly meeting time for our group to ensure regular communication and to provide an opportunity for brainstorming together in person.
We started this week off by researching existing direct current stimulators and studies that have been done on their efficacy. We also searched through the US Patent Office database for any device related to ours. The nearest thing that we found was a bone stimulator that was never brought to market. This stimulator converted ultrasonic pulses into electrical stimulation. After further investigation, we found that the screw that was used had a much larger diameter than atypical pedicle screw, so as to house the circuitry internally. It was not anodized and thus, was unable to direct the stimulation to a specific area. Furthermore, nothing could be found about the technology used to generate the ultrasonic pulses, or the manner in which they were converted into effective stimulation.
Our client, Dr. MacEwan, provided us with four papers to kick off our literature search. After reading these papers, we got together as a group to discuss our impressions of the papers and questions that we had. Certain questions arose that we plan to discuss with Dr. MacEwan at our meeting this weekend.
We decided on a weekly meeting time for our group to ensure regular communication and to provide an opportunity for brainstorming together in person.