Sarah Kelly knows what a missed ACL diagnosis looks like. As an APA Sports Physiotherapist and Managing Director of her own Canberra clinic, she has seen the impact when an anterior cruciate ligament injury is not picked up early: longer recovery, poorer outcomes, and a harder road back to full function.
Often, the gap starts in training. Students learn about ACL injuries through textbooks, lectures and placement, but rarely get repeated practice feeling what a torn ligament presents like under their hands. Many new graduates meet their first real ACL tear already in practice, unsure of what they are assessing and lacking confidence in the call.
Sarah’s research confirmed it. Students and new graduates consistently rated themselves as underprepared for ACL assessment, and even qualified practitioners can struggle. So she set out to build something that closes the gap.
Her project, Laxy Lucy ™, is a realistic knee simulation device that replicates the mechanics and tactile feel of knee ligament injuries. The model includes all four major ligaments, the ACL, PCL, MCL and LCL each testable as normal, grade 2 or grade 3, so students can practise assessing different injury levels in a repeatable way.
Sarah had a clear concept, but no background in engineering or manufacturing, and no links to university fabrication facilities.
“I had a clear concept, but no background in engineering or manufacturing, and no connections to any university facilities,” she said. “Without the voucher, I wouldn’t be making a prototype. Full stop.”
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Through the ACT Prototyping Voucher Pilot, funded by the ACT Government, she received up to $10,000 worth of access to prototyping facilities and technical expertise across ANU, UC, UNSW Canberra and CIT. The program connected her with Bill Shelley and the UC Workshop 7 team, who now meet weekly or fortnightly to work through the build.
Together they have 3D printed the knee structure, trialled silicone for the meniscus, tested different ropes for the ligaments, and sourced fake skin from UC’s nursing training unit. Each material brings trade-offs, and the design has gone through multiple rounds of testing, discarding and refining.
“The ligament is the hardest part,” Sarah said. “Getting something that behaves differently depending on how damaged it’s supposed to be — that’s been the real challenge.”
That kind of hands-on iteration is hard to do commercially. Without the right facilities and expertise, a prototype like this quickly becomes expensive and slow.
Sarah is now about 75% of the way through the project. Her prototyping skills have grown, and the collaboration with UC has opened doors she did not have before. Bill has flagged links with honours students looking for a project, and the program team is helping connect her with manufacturing and industrial design contacts for the next stage.
The remaining work is focused on refining the ligament mechanics, tidying up the build and strengthening internal connections. The finished voucher prototype will be functional but rough, and Sarah knows there is more to do before it could be produced at scale. The voucher has got her through a stage she could not have managed alone.
“It’s been super helpful and very supportive,” she said. “This has got me through a stage of the process I simply couldn’t have managed on my own.”
She has also received a $30,000 Innovation Connect (ICON) grant to keep the work moving, and was recently offered a place into the GRIFFIN Accelerator which will provide mentor and investment opportunity.
Sarah’s ambitions for Laxy Lucy go beyond a single prototype. She plans to develop further models and take them to the global market as a standard training tool in physiotherapy and medical education, and is looking to connect with manufacturers, industrial designers and university students who can help take the model from proof of concept to a polished product.
About the Prototyping Voucher Pilot
The ACT Prototyping Voucher Pilot helps Canberra-based innovators access up to $10,000 worth of university prototyping facilities, equipment and expertise across ANU, UC, UNSW Canberra and CIT. It is designed for people with a clear, design-ready concept for a physical prototype who need help bridging the gap between idea and buildable product.
A limited number of vouchers are still available. If you have a concept for a physical prototype and want to find out more, visit cbrin.com.au/act-prototyping-voucher-pilot or get in touch at enquiries@cbrin.com.au.
