Surgical Technology

The focus of the MSk lab's work in surgical technology and outcomes is on patients with early osteoarthritis. In this area, we work with a number of companies collaborating on new devices, assisting with product development and also post-op clinical surveillance of new implants that are being used in clinical trials. As part of this research we are:

• Designing technologies to improve surgical performance, including patient matched orthopaedic instrumentation using 3D printing
• Developing the most conservative approach to surgery, maintaining as many natural structures as possible
• Designing more conservative devices and procedures such as osteotomy, enabling return to high level function
• Improving hip replacement and resurfacing interventions using the most cost-effective bearings for each individual
• Devising a compartmental approach to treating knee disease, including partial knee replacements such as patellofemoral and unicondylar components
• Designing 3D planning tools and patient matched instruments for osteotemies to correct deformity arising from trauma, and to prevent progression of osteoarthitis
• Assessing the efficacy and safety of new surgical techniques for kinematic alignment of total knee replacements
• Developing patient specific pre-operative planning tools for total joint replacements

To enable this research MSk are applying technologies from the following fields; computer science, imaging science, tribology, biomechanics, simulation and surgical robotics.