Challenge: Create a replacement for the Harrington Rod, an antiquated surgical treatment for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS).

Result: Vertecal, a sensor-enabled scoliosis brace with companion app, tailored to confront the pressures that AIS patients commonly face.

Process: Concept development, application design

Project Description

Our solution path for this project started with improving current surgical tools for correcting AIS. After speaking with orthopedic surgeons and assessing several possible ideas, we decided that we could be most effective by focusing on improving braces for the treatment of AIS. After researching patient reactions to wearing scoliosis braces, our team found significant issues with prescribed brace use. Our target users became adolescent girls, who were commonly influenced against wearing back braces by social factors. Our final prototype consisted of a design for our mobile application, Vertecal, that interfaced with a scoliosis brace outfitted with force sensors.