A new research training centre
A research training centre for joint biomechanics has been established at Queensland University of Technology, supported by a $4M grant. The centre is directed at osteoarthritis and other joint-related orthopaedic conditions in Australia.
The partnership
Partners include QUT, the University of Queensland and UNSW, together with orthopaedic surgeons and industry. According to the announcement, the centre is supported by $7.7M in cash and in-kind contributions, involves 12 participating organisations and spans work across three countries.
Quoted in the announcement were Professor Peter Pivonka, Professor YuanTong Gu and Professor Margaret Sheil AO, with Professor Graham Kerr also involved. Dr Ashish Gupta and Dr Ken Cutbush are the shoulder surgeons involved.
Why biomechanics matters to shoulder surgery
A great deal of what determines whether a joint replacement or a repair lasts comes down to mechanics: how forces pass through the joint, how component position changes that loading, and how soft tissues are tensioned. Those questions are difficult to answer from clinical observation alone and are better addressed in a laboratory, which is what a centre of this kind provides. Several of the studies covered elsewhere on this blog came out of this collaboration.
Read more
The full announcement is available in the QUT news article.
Related information
See our posts on restoration of the glenoid joint line and forearm referencing in reverse shoulder arthroplasty, both of which came from this collaboration.