title: Spinal ligament transducer based on a hall effect sensor.
abstract: A spinal ligament transducer (SLT) was developed to measure in situ spinal ligament elongation during the simulation of whiplash trauma with a cadaveric spine specimen. The SLT was designed to be affixed to two K-wires drilled into the bone at the approximate points of ligament origin and insertion. The transducer is low cost and is capable of measuring the linear distance between the K-wires in the range 4-12 mm with the root mean square (RMS) accuracy of 0.025 mm.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA. cholewicki@biomed.med.yale.edu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cholewicki
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Panjabi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nibu
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Macias
mesh_terms: D001864:Bone Wires; D002102:Cadaver; D002138:Calibration; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries; D004867:Equipment Design; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D006801:Humans; D017846:Longitudinal Ligaments / Q000502:physiology*; D008280:Magnetics; D018583:Pliability; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013499:Surface Properties; D014159:Transducers; D014911:Whiplash Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology