KNEE joints that crack and pop when bent and flexed could help doctors determine whether a recovering joint is healthy or if it needs more therapy. Research engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are developing a listening device that picks up sounds of a bending and extending knee, converting them into a signal medical researchers will soon be able to use for diagnosis.
The high-tech knee band contains microphones and vibration sensors to listen to and measure the sounds inside the joint. The study is being led by Omer Inan, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering who is a former discus thrower and was a three-time NCAA All-American at Stanford University.
Inan says the acoustic pattern of an injured knee is markedly different from that of healthy joint. “It’s more erratic,” he said. “A healthy knee produces a more consistent pattern of noises.”