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Implementing biomechanics tools to the clinic for paediatric surgery

Year:
2025
Duration:
48 months
Approved budget:
$599,601.00
Researchers:
Dr Julie Choisne
,
Professor Ngaire Stott
,
Dr Nichola Wilson
,
Mr Jonathan Tan
,
Dr Nikki Hooper
Host:
The University of Auckland
Health issue:
Bone/musculoskeletal
Proposal type:
Sir Charles Hercus Fellowship
Lay summary
Conditions such as developmental hip dysplasia, cerebral palsy and slipped capital femoral epiphysis can lead to complex hip and knee deformities in paediatric and adolescent patients. Because the effect of such bone deformities is heterogeneous, the outcomes of surgical interventions are variable, which make it difficult to quantify efficacy of an individual treatment, or know which interventions are most effective for which child. We propose to design a personalised medicine approach to this problem by implementing bioengineering tools targeted to children’s physiology in the clinic. I have developed personalised models trained and validated on a large dataset of medical imaging of typically developed children aged 4 to 18 years. The goal of this project is to validate these tools on a large cohort of clinical images from patients with bone deformities. Delivering personalised healthcare solutions to orthopaedic medicine will provide social and health benefits to these patients.