Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

It is essential that we fully understand how healthy joints work and have means for studying the effects of biomedical interventions. The overarching goal of my basic science research program is to develop improved experimental and computational methods to study the mechanics of human joints. My lab focuses primarily on knee joint biomechanics, using a joint motion simulator that can apply loads across a joint and measure resulting motion. Very recently, we have enhanced this simulator through the addition of a muscle actuator system, allowing us to simulate joint movements in muscle control. This capability lets us simulate many complex knee activities of daily living in a more realistic manner, potentially making it one of the most realistic knee testers in the world. Over the next five years, I aim to leverage our enhanced joint motion simulator and computational modelling capabilities to enable simulations of deep knee bending and walking. We will further upgrade the simulator to permit control of multiple muscles groups, building off our initial success with the quadriceps, and we will incorporate subject-specific computational musculoskeletal models to synthesize muscle forces. We will develop and validate this system using an existing repository of data from load-sensing knee implants. Simultaneously, we will develop an intact knee database using healthy research participants. We will develop techniques for creating subject-specific 3D printed knee replicas based on these data and use these replicas to perform subject-specific muscle-based motion simulations on the joint motion simulator. Finally, we will also develop and validate a new technique for virtually testing different implant designs in real knees mounted to the simulator, embedding a computer model-based contact simulation into physical experimental tests of human knees. The outcomes of this research will include new fundamental knowledge of how muscle forces influence knee biomechanics and the effects of different muscle activity patterns. The techniques we will develop for creating subject-specific knee replicas that are suitable for mechanical testing will be entirely novel and translatable to other areas of joint research. Furthermore, the virtual implant testing techniques we will develop could lead to the creation of new robotic surgery technologies. The joint testing platform resulting from this research will be the most advanced knee simulator to date, encouraging collaboration and investment from around the world. The improved ability to preclinically evaluate knee interventions using this platform can eventually improve quality of life for Canadians with mobility issues, as could eventual improvements in surgical robotics arising from this work. Finally, the interdisciplinary training opportunities provided within this research are entirely unique, and the skills and expertise HQP develop will be valuable assets for future careers in industry and academia.