Chris Snell '08 Invents Surgical Bone Clamp

While finishing an electrical apprenticeship and racing ATVs (all terrain vehicle) as a hobby, Chris Snell '08 decided to change direction and rewrite his story. He enrolled at Knox College at the age of 26. As a biochemistry major, he proved himself to be a gifted undergraduate researcher as well as a gifted crafter of tools.

After graduating from Alexis High School, he enrolled in an apprenticeship to become an electrician. But Snell says he felt a different calling. "I spent most time in the ditch laying conduit. I liked doing it, but after three years, I felt like I couldn't see myself doing it forever."

He also had an almost full time hobby racing ATVs. "I was doing all the modification myself. I was building and welding the frame to make it stronger. I didn't have a corporate sponsored ATV, and doing my own work was cheaper than buying the parts."

One of his early adventures at Knox was fulfilling of his experiential learning requirement. Snell had an internship shadowing a local orthopedic surgeon who routinely performed knee replacement surgeries.

Knee replacement surgery is both labor and time intensive. In the first surgery Snell witnessed, he says he noticed that the surgeon was frustrated with the clamp that grips the patient's tibia (the weight bearing bone that runs from the knee to the ankle). A cup of coffee and a napkin doodle following the surgery changed his life.

"With my experience of knowing how tools work, I could see he (surgeon) needed a clamp that performed better. The doctor told me that the instruments don't always provide him the flexibility he wants in performing the surgery," Snell says. "So, I started scribbling on a napkin and asking him about the kind of instrument he wanted."

Thanks to a technological instrument invented by Snell, now there is a better way to hold the tibia in place and allow the surgeon a more efficient surgery.

Making Tools is My Specialty
Inventing the bone clamp was no stroke of luck for Snell. With his long interest in ATV racing, Snell had developed a skill for tinkering with worn or broken parts, and creating his own tools. "I became pretty good at crafting my own parts and tools."

He took his basic concept, developed in a doctor's lounge, and refined it for his senior Honors project. "Originally, like all of my ATV tools, I planned on making the clamp in my garage at home."

But a visit with his advisor, Judy Thorn, associate professor of biology, gave the project new focus. While discussing various topics for a senior project, Thorn asked for an update on Snell's internship with the orthopedic surgeon. "I started talking about making a stainless steel clamp for him to use in surgery, and how I was making it in my garage, like I do with all my tools. She told me I should make that my Honors research." Snell also credits Charles Schulz, professor of physics and Linda Dybas, W. Bartlett professor of biology, as mentors and collaborators for his Honors analysis.

His brother, a 3-D design specialist, also helped. Snell was able to render his drawing as a 3-D model and confer with the surgeon about modifications. "It was the first time I saw my technology created in 3-D animation. I could take it to him and examine it in scale, and show him what it was really going to look like. We could look at it from all angles, and I could ask if the design was really what he wanted."

Today, the instrument is being used in surgery.

All Roads Lead to Knox
Growing up in a small town, Snell says he didn't immediately aspire to attend college after high school and just wanted to get a job. As an apprentice electrician he soon realized he wanted something more. He says he was inspired by his mother's career in nursing and found that field a satisfying choice. "I wanted that feeling that I made a difference in someone's life."

Once Snell decided to go into medicine, he says selecting a college was obvious. "I knew I wanted to come to Knox College before I even set foot on the campus. I knew that they had such a high acceptance rate to medical school, like 80 percent, and that is exactly why I picked Knox."

A simple instrument thereby becomes Snell's ongoing source of inspiration for a future in orthopedic medicine. "If I had not had the experiential learning, I might not have found this calling. Knox gave me the opportunity to be in the hospital with the right doctor. It is exciting to see my device being used by a surgeon performing knee replacement surgery with it."

Now the plan is to refine the design with widespread applications.

Knox Changed My Life
Snell says he came to Knox open to whatever opportunity came his way. "I didn't know what was going to happen. It took off in this direction and I loved it. "

Shortly after creating his invention, Snell applied for a patent to protect it. He says he will never forget that Associate Dean of the College Stephen Bailey told him that his intellectual property needed to be protected. "Other colleges might have claimed the ownership of something invented as part of a course, but Dean Bailey said I was the owner. Then he told me to go see (President) Roger Taylor." Taylor put Snell in touch with his wife, Anne, who is Knox's Pro Bono Counsel. She helped Snell navigate the intricacies of a patent application.

Believing that Knox opened doors and opportunities for him, Snell also credits the support of the entire faculty and staff at Knox. "The people here are constantly pushing for you to succeed. When I came here I didn't know what I was going to do. Now I know exactly what I am going to do."

 

Knox graduate Chris Snell '08 tinkered with napkin drawings to develop a patient protected bone clamp that increases efficiency during knee preplacement surgery.