The National Institutes of Health awarded Professor Ken Diller and his colleague Professor Matt Brothers of the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at The University of Texas at Austin a four-year grant for cryotherapy research.
Ken Diller
The grant will fund a project called Device and Methods to Obviate the Risk of Ischemic Injury During Cryotherapy.
Cryotherapy refers to the cooling of injured soft tissue to enhance the healing process. Diller’s research will identify a safer, more effective device and means for that process. Cryotherapy devices are used in orthopedic surgeries. In rare cases, they can damage nerves or cause deep tissue necrosis.
“Our goal is to create a device that is able to manipulate temperature more precisely to promote healing, while eliminating risk factors for injury and nerve and tissue damage,” Diller says.
These devices are used for major soft tissue injuries. However, the objective of improved healing outcomes may have applications for sports injuries too.
Diller is the Robert M. and Prudie Leibrock Endowed Professor in Engineering. He was recently named a Fellow of the Society of Cryobiology.
