Jenlu Pagnotta ‘22, a Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering alumna, is part of a Johns Hopkins University team who are finalists in a national competition for collegiate inventors for their invention of a simpler, more comfortable brace to treat kids born with clubfoot. The team – including Delphine Tan, a senior in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Hannah Yamagata, a senior in the Department of Biomedical Engineering – will present their invention Oct. 12 to a panel of judges from the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Trademark Office. Winners will be announced Oct. 13.
The Dynamic Brace the team developed is shaped like a sock and made of light plastic. Since children with the condition must wear a brace for all or most of the day, until around the age of five, to reposition their misshapen feet, having a brace that feels good and is easy to get on can make a world of difference for families.
“We wanted to create a brace that’s significantly lighter and softer than the braces that are currently available to make it a more comfortable experience for kids,” said Pagnotta.
To apply the brace, caregivers wrap it around the child’s foot and align it into the correct position. Then using a coordinating handheld pump, polystyrene beads inside the fabric compress to hold the foot in place like a cast. The brace comes off easily by releasing a valve so that the boot relaxes. Getting the boot on and off takes less than five minutes, compared to traditional boots where it can take as long as 15 minutes.
This story was excerpted from The Hub.