A team of faculty from the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and NC State University, the Department of Orthopaedics at the UNC School of Medicine, and the University of Delaware received a $3M R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore Achilles subtendon relationships and their role in treatment outcomes in patients with Achilles tendinopathy.
The project will be led by Stephanie Cone, assistant professor in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Delaware and Jason Franz, professor in the Lampe Joint Department. Other project contributors include Geoffrey Handsfield, assistant professor in biomedical engineering and orthopaedics at UNC-Chapel Hill, along with Karin Silbernagel, professor of physical therapy at the University of Delaware.
Achilles tendinopathy is a painful and debilitating condition that results in inflammation, stiffness and difficulty walking. Exercise therapy is a gold standard treatment of the condition, but has a high recurrence rate in nearly half of all patients with this diagnosis. The Achilles tendon connects the heel to three separate muscles in an anatomical arrangement that varies between people, resulting in a complex anatomy that may lead to this inconsistency in success rates with current treatment.
To meet this challenge, the research team will integrate biomechanical sensors and medical imaging to develop models and enhance the understanding of anatomic variability between individuals. Through this research opportunity, the researchers’ insights and discoveries will guide future personalized clinical interventions to better support patients with this painful condition.