Wireless Data Logger for Pectus Carinatum Brace Device

The goal of the research is to advance biomedical investigation and clinical practices through miniature, smart, and low-cost biomedical devices.  Pectus carinatum, or pigeon chest, is a medical condition characterized by a protrusion of the sternum and ribs due to excess cartilage. Affecting almost 6,000 children a year, its treatment with a non-invasive, inexpensive biomedical device would significant improvement over the current standard-of-care surgical solution. We have created a specialized brace for a child to wear that puts a constant pressure on the chest in order to correct the protrusion. Since the continued application of force is key to the functionality of this brace, we implemented a wireless data logger to aid in recording and monitoring the force throughout the course of treatment. The data logger consists of an ATMEGA1284P microcontroller, STLM20 temperature sensor, and an FSS-SMT Series force sensor.  The temperature sensor assesses and monitors the patient’s usage of the device, while the force sensor monitors the magnitude of the applied force. This data is transmitted through a BlueSMiRF wireless interface to the doctor’s office in real-time or, when there is no connection data, to an SD card for storage.  Using this data, we hope to determine the patient’s usage and the optimal combination of compliance and force necessary to painlessly push on the chest to successfully correct for Pectus carinatum.