[ ] A few years ago, Ivonna Dumanyan bought a pair of new running shoes and realized she had a pronation problem.
Ivonna Dumanyan
junior | Major in mechanical engineering
Pronation is the natural inward roll of the foot while running or walking, and too little or too much of it puts an athlete at risk for injury. As a varsity rower, Dumanyan had top-level coaches and fitness specialists who could help her, but she knew that many athletes didn’t. Last summer, she designed SmartStrides, a small device that attaches to the heel and monitors pronation. Dumanyan learned and wrote the code herself, both for the device hardware and data-processing software. She also printed a plastic model of her own foot using a 3D printer in Duke’s new Innovation Co-Lab, which offers grants and tools to student developers. Using the foot model, she can simulate pronation and study the “signature” of her steps, which looks similar to activity on a heart monitor. The device can tell a runner whether he or she is pronating, and if so, how much. “Sixty percent of people pronate without knowing it,” says Dumanyan, a junior. “It’s important to be aware of your body and of your form so you can find the least dangerous and most comfortable form.” At the moment, Dumanyan’s sensor is about the size of a quarter. She’s trying to make it smaller and wireless, and develop a sweat-proof casing. When it’s ready, she plans to have Duke athletes test it. n
DUKE MAGAZINE
SPRING 2015
41