$1.5M grant will allow Pa. colleges to research ways to identify post-recovery injury risks using micro-doppler radar technology – By Daniel Urie (Pennlive) / Aug 29, 2022
Researchers will use micro-doppler radar technology, the same kind of radar law enforcement uses, to research ways to identify post-recovery injury risks.
Researchers from Penn State Health, Penn State Engineering, and Lebanon Valley College’s Lewis Human Performance Lab were awarded a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to see if micro-doppler radar can help clinicians assess minute movement deficiencies invisible to traditional assessment methods.
“For the U.S. military, injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) prevent service members from fulfilling crucial duties,” Lebanon Valley College said in a news release. “Tearing and overstretching of the ACL causes significant knee pain with typical post-surgery recovery periods often exceeding nine months. Reinjury often occurs within two years post-surgery even after completion of rehabilitation. Physicians cannot always assess rehabilitation effectiveness because patients may develop compensatory body movements that can hide evidence of deficient recovery, thus increasing risk and perpetuating the reinjury cycle.”
