Mission
The Orthopedic Biomechanics Research Center (OBRC) complements and advances clinical decision-making and clinical understanding of orthopedic problems by using sophisticated analytical techniques incorporated from many different disciplines.
Scope
The OBRC focuses on common congenital deformities of the spine and complex joints while exploring novel methods of fracture fixation and surgical correction.
Staff
Staff includes pediatric orthopedic surgeons, pediatric fellows, orthopedic residents, medical students, graduate engineering students and undergraduates, all of whom work together to design and complete all phases of each study.
Academic Partners
- University of California, San Diego, Department of Orthopedics
- University of California, San Diego, Department of Bioengineering
- San Diego State University, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Equipment
- Bi-axial MTS machine with custom-built attachments for physiological loading of spine, hip, upper and lower extremities
- Four-camera 60Hz Qualisys motion measurement system
- Four-channel Measurements Group strain gauge system
- Soft tissue strain measurement system
- Custom-built six-degree of freedom motion platform for non-destructive testing of spine, hip, upper and lower extremities
- Custom-built testing system for recreating scoliotic curves in intact spine, and measuring simulated (in-vitro) corrective loads
- Modified surgical instrumentation and integrated system for measuring intraoperative (in-situ) loads during corrective procedures
Projects
- Biomechanical evaluation of cervical, anterior thoracic and lumbar spine instrumentation systems
- New surgical technique for acetabular osteotomies and their biomechanical differences
- Strain/stress differences of several types of posterior/anterior spinal instrumentation
- Biomechanics of several new fixation devices for rotator cuff repair
- Biomechanical evaluation of plating systems for trauma surgery
- Intraoperative measurements of biomechanical data
- Finite element analysis using high resolution fully orthotropic models
- Evaluation of ACL repairs using different fixation devices.
- Design and construction of additional testing machines for spine and musculoskeletal research