What’s New

July 2010

“Shaking” the spine could be good for your back.

From Utoday News, July 07, 2010

Chris Hunter spine
Photo by Riley Brandt, University of Calgary

“Shaking” the spine could be good for your back, says, Christopher Hunter, biomedical engineer at the Schulich School of Engineering and the McCaig Institute.

Slipped discs, pinched nerves, whiplash and disc degeneration affect millions of North Americans. They often lead to severe back pain. Sufferers often rely on powerful medication for relief, and that medication can be addictive.

It’s long been thought that people exposed to mechanical vibrations, such as construction workers and truck drivers who spend long hours absorbing vibrations from seats, are more prone to back disorders. But new research at the University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering in collaboration with sponsor Optima Health Solutions International Corp. (KKT International) has uncovered potential benefits of these vibrations.

“Mechanical vibrations appear to alter cell behaviour in a way that points to the potential for the regeneration of cells and tissues in the spine. Our results were both surprising and encouraging, given the socio-economic costs of back pain,” says Christopher Hunter, biomedical engineer at the Schulich School of Engineering and the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health. Hunter’s work is supported in part by funding from Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions.

Mechanical vibration is already used as a form of therapy by Optima and many back-pain sufferers swear by it. Christopher Hunter and the Associate Research Director of Optima, Geoffrey Desmoulin, are the first to study the ‘how’ behind the apparent success of applying vibration. Their research shows that vibrations can benefit the spine, depending on the type and frequency of vibration, where it is applied and for how long. “This information is very exciting and Optima has been able to use this research in clinics around the world as results come in,” says Geoff Desmoulin.

Hunter and Desmoulin experimented with spines from cattle, which are structurally similar to human spines. Experiments involved shaking bovine discs and applying vibrations with a stylus from the Khan Kinetic Treatment (KKT) device, Optima’s primary product. Both showed beneficial results at the cellular level.

These findings could lead to more effective treatments for back disorders and help patients avoid reliance on powerful pain-killing drugs. Better treatments could reduce the strain on the health-care system and reduce the economic costs of lost productivity due to back pain. The next step in this research is to gain a better understanding of how vibration frequencies travel through different types of tissue such as muscle and bone.

Hunter and Desmoulin have completed a series of papers outlining their findings. Two have been published in the journals Biomechanical Engineering and Spine. A third will be published in Spine later this year.


April 2010

UofC Connections to Body Worlds Exhibit

From Utoday News, April 30, 2010 Body Worlds Exhibit
The Soccer Player, 2005 Copyright: Gunther von Hagens, Institute for Plastination, Heidelberg, Germany

The world famous exhibit makes its Canadian debut today at the TELUS World of Science – Calgary. Dr. Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS & The Brain features more than 200 specimens, including full body plastinates. This is the first time in Canada the exhibit also features the latest in neuroscience.

Faculty of Medicine academics and students are helping to educate the public about the intricacies and the importance of studying the human body, as well as giving lectures on the brain and volunteering as roving expert guides for the exhibit.

The Hotchkiss Brain Institute has partnered with the TELUS World of Science - Calgary to provide a series of lectures every Friday evening in May. The lectures will feature Institute members and trainees who are conducting world-class neurological and mental health research, allowing the public a unique opportunity to interact with some of Calgary’s leading neuroscience and mental health researchers.

Lecture topics include: Lasers and Brain Chips: The Future of Brain Research, The Rise of the Machines in Stroke, A Beautiful Mind: Schizophrenia and the Brain, and Multiple Sclerosis in Alberta. Lectures are free with the purchase of admission to the BODY WORLDS & The Brain exhibition. Details can be found online at hbi.ucalgary.ca.

Dr. John Bertram, the Director of the Gross Anatomy Lab and the university’s Body Donation Program, is training volunteers from the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health to give tours at the exhibit. He is also giving tours himself, and speaking about the role of body donation programs in medical education and research.

Dr. von Hagens invented plastination to preserve bodies. All bodily fluids are extracted from a specimen to stop decomposition, and replaced with plastics that give the specimens rigidity and permanence.

Nearly 30 million visitors in 50 cities around the world, including Los Angles, London and Tokyo have seen a BODY WORLDS exhibition since its debut in 1995.



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What’s New

April 2010

Funding Accelerates Research Program for Engineers

From Utoday News, April 19, 2010

Neil Duncan
Photo: Ken Bendiktsen
Two researchers at the Schulich School of Engineering have received Discovery Accelerator Supplements, each worth $120,000 over three years, from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

These awards go to experts who have demonstrated research excellence and show strong potential to become international leaders in their fields. The funding accelerates their research programs by providing additional staff or specialized equipment.

Neil Duncan, Canada Research Chair in Orthopaedic Bioengineering, investigates the mechanobiology of musculoskeletal tissues—how mechanical loads at the tissue level are transferred to the cell level and create a biological response. He is developing tissue engineering treatment options for musculoskeletal disorders such as degenerative disc disease and osteoporotic fractures.

Bill Rosehart, electrical engineering professor, develops designs for electrical power systems that account for future uncertainties such as energy demand, the availability of renewable energy and the use of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Clean energy sources including wind and solar power will figure prominently in the electrical systems of the future, but planners and operators face challenges because of geographical limitations and the variability of power output from those sources.

Other researchers at the Schulich School of Engineering have received Discovery Accelerator Supplements in the past: Gopal Achari, expert in geo-environmental engineering in the civil engineering department, and Naser El-Sheimy, Canada Research Chair in Mobile Multi-Sensor Geomatics Systems.


March 2010

$250,000 Grant Awarded For Groundbreaking

Ligament And Tendon Repair Research

March 01, 2010

ligament and tendon repair research

Dr. Robert C. Bray of the University of Calgary was recently selected as the winner of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s (AOSSM) $250,000 Ligament and Tendon Repair and Regeneration Grant for his project, “Biological Augmentation of Ligament and Tendon Healing: Role of Neuropeptides.”

Dr. Bray and his colleagues (Paul Salo, University of Calgary, and Per Renstrom and Paul Ackermann, both with the Karolinska Institutet) will conduct a series of experiments designed first to define the cellular, physiological, mechanical and structural changes in healing chronically injured tendons and ligaments and then assess the impact of blocking the action of a specific inflammatory neuropeptide, or augmenting the action of an anti-inflammatory neuropeptide.

“We are grateful to AOSSM and RTI Biologics for selecting our project and allowing us to continue to study such an important piece of the ligament and tendon repair puzzle,” said Bray.

In 2006, the Society launched the first of a series of three-year research initiatives intended to highlight important issues in orthopaedic sports medicine and to promote high-level research in the selected topics. The first initiative focused on articular cartilage followed by the current initiative on ligament and tendon repair and regeneration. Following a think tank meeting in January 2009, and a grant workshop in July 2009, the Society solicited formal grant applications from workshop participants. This research initiative is sponsored by RTI Biologics Inc.

“We are proud to provide financial support to AOSSM’s research initiatives. The efforts of the AOSSM membership in the field of ligament and tendon repair and regeneration will lead to improved patient care. Continued research in this field is central to both the mission of RTI Biologics and the ongoing scientific leadership of the AOSSM,” said Rod Allen, Vice President of Sports Medicine Distribution, RTI Biologics Inc.

Source: Lisa Weisenberger - American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine