At UCLA researchers are studying anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries and how to repair them using an industrial robot that’s normally found at car factories. Instead of having a drill or a welding attachment, the robot holds onto cadaver knees and applies different forces onto it. The researchers study how injuries occur, and are also able to try different repairs and then test how well they hold up to the robot.
The system allows the researchers to measure how the forces are affecting the knee, giving them a perspective that without a good simulator would be impossible.
Here’s a video from UCLA showing off how the research is performed:
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