Conducted a small project to assist with my NCAA Division 1 competitive alpine ski racing equipment setup. It is common practice to raise the ski boot with ‘lifter plates’, as well as implement a ‘canting angle’ under each boot sole. These changes are generally semi-permanent and are cumbersome to optimize. 

Designed and 3D printed a range of interchangeable boot lifter plates with incrementally increased thickness and canting angle. To my knowledge, the idea and design are novel. The only avaliable system allowing the ability to test multiple ski boot configurations on a single day of skiing, using a single set of ski boots.

Multiple studies confirm that explosive performance is strongly correlated with muscle temperature. Warm muscles contract faster and more forcefully because biochemical and mechanical processes are accelerated at higher temperature (enzymatic reactions, actin–myosin crossbridge kinetics, calcium handling).

A temperature regulated heated garment is not commercially available with the necessary heat output to actively warm athletes muscle temperature up to 43C. 

The following design is contracted work; utilizing an Arduino microcontroller to regulate (PWM) the heat output of flexible heat pads to a desired temperature. The system is powered from a Dewalt 20V battery integrating the control electronics with the battery connection, allowing high-performance athletes to extract their maximum performance. 

*This is an ongoing project

The nerve block linkage aligns the needle tip within the ultrasound imaging plane. Using the linkage ensures the needle tip is only free to move within the ultrasound’s view. The first prototype (white) required refinement as the linkage design was unsteady. The second prototype (black) maintained all the linkage members in a single plane, providing a well-toleranced and sturdy needle tip guide.