March 23, 2018

Purdue Engineering team works 30 hours straight to construct an elbow brace for Isaac Haas

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — When Eric Nauman got the call from Purdue Sports Medicine, he was ready.

“We’ve been working with sports medicine here at Purdue for more than 10 years,” said Nauman, professor of mechanical engineering. “We’ve done concussion studies and built braces and other assistive devices for athletes of all ages. But this one was unique.”

Nauman Haas Purdue mechanical engineering professor Eric Nauman had a challenge: take the rigid parts of an elbow brace for Isaac Haas and replace them with pliable material. (Purdue University photo) Download image

Isaac Haas, the 7-foot-2-inch men’s basketball star, had fractured his elbow in Purdue’s second-round NCAA Tournament game on March 16. He had attempted to play in Sunday’s game with a brace, but the NCAA wouldn’t allow a device with “nonpliable material.”

That’s when Nauman and his team of graduate students got to work in his lab, the Human Injury Research and Regenerative Technologies Lab (HIRRT). A YouTube video is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sv_9k5AXEQ.

“We talked with the athletic trainers to see what the actual issues were with the current brace,” said Nauman, “and came up with the design goals we had to meet. It’s the exact same process that we teach our students every semester, except we were doing it in 30 hours.”

Nauman team Nauman with his team of engineering students who worked on a solution for the brace. (Purdue University photo) Download image

They did some rapid prototyping, and experimented with many different types of padding materials. What ultimately worked best was an old-school solution: leather.

“Since we weren’t allowed to use anything rigid, leather was the perfect material to prevent Isaac from locking his elbow out,” said Nauman, professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering, professor of basic medical sciences (by courtesy) and director of College of Engineering Honors Programs.

One of his students actually did leatherwork as a hobby and constructed the pieces needed to complete the brace. “It’s amazing to see these old and new technologies come together to get the job done.”

So how do you size a brace for someone who is 7 feet 2? 

“We usually make prosthetics and assistive devices for children,” said Nauman. “We didn’t have any models in the lab that were anywhere near the right size.”

They attempted to simulate Haas’ arm by dressing a student in many layers of bulky sweatshirts. One student even used the measurements of his leg to substitute for the thickness of Haas’ arm.  In the end, Haas sat for a fitting, after which they adjusted the padding to add protection exactly where it was needed.

Nauman board This whiteboard shows how Nauman and his team went about developing the brace. (Purdue University photo) Download image

Ultimately, the decision as to whether Haas is able to play again in the tournament is up to coach Matt Painter, but regardless, Nauman's team of engineers is glad to have combined their talents with those of the basketball team.

“Isaac, Vince, and the whole team are such stand-up guys,” Nauman said. “They’re a wonderful group to work with. That’s why we gave pretty much every hour we had. We were driven to do the best job that we could for them.” 

Media contact: Tim Doty, 765-496-2571, doty2@purdue.edu 

Writer: Jared Pike, jaredpike@purdue.edu 

Source: Eric Nauman, enauman@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: Broadcast-quality video clips and publication-quality photos are available at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FdyGT1-hW4-t-5bGIeLycB2LR2wFa5oM. A YouTube video, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sv_9k5AXEQ, has been compiled by Jared Pike, communications specialist for Purdue’s School of Mechanical Engineering.

 

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