Peter Halverson, a PhD student at Brigham Young University, won 2nd Place in the Graduate Division of the 2008 ASME Student Mechanisms Design Competition for his entry entitled "Contact-aided Compliant Mechanism Based Spinal Arthroplasty." The contest was part of the ASME Mechanisms & Robotics Conference held in Brooklyn, New York, held from August 4th-5th. Peter's goal was to produce a viable alternative to spinal fusion by designing a device that mimics the physiological motion of the spine. The presented design has the potential to restore both the quality and quantity of motion in the lower back as well as virtually eliminate wear, the number one cause of orthopedic loosening in hip and knee replacements.
Peter's works with Dr. Larry Howell and Dr. Anton Bowden in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Peter also presented a paper at the conference on his work, which is available in the Proceedings of the 2008 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences. A U.S. patent is pending.