WWU engineering team patents new surgical device

The Distal-Screw Guiding System for Interlocking Intramedullary Nail Implants is shaped like a crescent moon with two thin, oval arms on each side.  The curved center piece acts as the guiding jig of the device. Each arm has two holes which allows for a locating pin to be inserted. This locating pin is used to align the holes in the tibia nail for proper insertion into the leg. The Guiding System’s design allows for higher accuracy and repeatability, a lower learning curve, faster operating time and a reduction in the overall cost of surgery. 

(WWU Associate Professor of Engineering) Sura Al-Qudah began the initial design process in winter 2020 with her then-student Levi Smith, who graduated with a degree in manufacturing engineering in fall 2020.