Kalina Mladenova Portfolio
I am a designer and an experimentalist.
I love understanding how things work and finding ways to improve existing devices and create new ones. I want to innovate and create things that are beautiful and can help our everyday lives.
Outside of design and engineering, I illustrate for different Yale publications, write articles, and am the president of the Bulgarian Society.
My favourite animal is the hippo.
I hold a BS in Mechanical Engineering and a BA in Art from Yale University.
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Linkedin Customisable Hip Spacer2023
Yale School of Medicine
Yale School of Engineering
New Haven, CT
The goal of this project was to create a parametric 3D model of a patient’s hip and be able to make personalized cement hip spacers in the operating room.
Currently, there are only 5 hip spacer sizes that are commercially available. With this innovative approach, surgeons can have a pre-made 3D mold of the patient’s hip anatomy, fill it up with bone cement and insert the spacer in the patient during a hip revision surgery.
With this innovation in the orthopedics field, a patient can have a more successful recovery from infections and can benefit from a temporary implant that fits perfectly without compromising any daily activities.
The project was developed for Zimmer Biomet. A paper on the topic has been submitted for review, and a patent was filed.