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MySpine: Simulating Patient-Specific Spinal Treatments

On May 24, 2017 11:00 (GMT-5)
Online

11:00 - 12:00 EDT
04:00 - 05:00 BST
05:00 - 06:00 CEST

The Insigneo Institute for in silico Medicine at the University of Sheffield, UK, is transforming how engineering is being used in medicine to alter the ways in which clinical decisions are made. Virtual human modeling and simulation-driven processes are enabling clinicians to combine detailed models of their patients with finite element (FE) simulations to look into their patients’ futures. Employing in silico medicine in this way allows doctors to consider different treatment options, all in the safety of virtual human simulations. These simulations also present clinical teams with new ‘biomarkers’—previously unavailable computed measures of physiological status—that lend strong support to their decisions. This webinar will discuss the development and use of spinal models and simulations as a clinical decision making tool to help clinicians select the treatment for lower back pain that promises the greatest long-term success. Applying this approach on a patient-specific basis is a great example of how a computational modeling and simulations could transform care, not only for the spine but also for the rest of the body.

Highlights:

  • Learn how virtual human modeling and simulation can impact the practice of medicine, especially treatment planning driven by the ability to predict outcomes
  • Understand how capturing the interaction of devices with the human body via virtual human simulations could accelerate progress towards personalized devices
  • Learn about advanced uses of 3D modeling, simulation, and visualization to improve healthcare and potentially start new businesses

Who Should Attend?

  • Medical Device Engineers evaluating effective methods for developing personalized devices
  • Clinicians interested in learning how virtual human modeling and simulations can help with treatment planning, especially for the spine
  • Healthcare Service Providers that are looking to provide hospitals with advanced modeling, simulation, and visualization services
  • Entrepreneurs looking for transformational ideas in healthcare, especially towards the goal of personalized treatments

    Speaker

    Damien Lacroix
    Professor Mechanobiology, Department of Mechanical Engineering

    Damien Lacroix has a first degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Applied Science (INSA Lyon, France) and a PhD in Biomechanics from Trinity College Dublin. After a post-doc in 2001 in Toulouse (France) for Smith and Nephew at the Purpan Hospital, he was awarded a Marie-Curie TMR EU fellowship in 2002 and a Ramon y Cajal senior fellowship in 2004 at the Technical University of Catalonia (Spain). In 2008 he was appointed Group Leader of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology at the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (Spain). Damien joined the Department in 2012 when he took a Chair in Biomedical Engineering within the INSIGNEO research institute.

    Professor Lacroix's research covers bone mechanobiology (bone tissue engineering, bone distraction, fracture healing) and spine biomechanics (mechanobiology of disc degeneration, disc angiogenesis, disc implant analysis). The focus of his research group is the study of the effect of mechanical stimuli on biological response. The group's objective is to make scientific advancements in simulations of in vitro and in vivo biomechanics and mechanobiology and in experimental in vitro mechanobiology. The current focus of the group is mainly on the development of simulations in spine biomechanics, tissue engineering and cell mechanics. These numerical simulations based on the finite element method are complemented with in vitro tests using bioreactors and microfluid chambers.

    Registration