Grant: Collaborative Health Research Projects (NSERC partnered)

Orthopaedic surgeons repair broken bones and treat developmental abnormalities such as hip dysplasia. Both areas rely heavily on 2D imaging techniques that make it difficult to properly assess and measure complex 3D structures such as the pelvis or the hip joint. This makes it difficult to accurately position bone fragments and insert wires and screws to repair broken bones in trauma or to accurately diagnose early developmental abnormalities of the hip. Current intra-operative imaging techniques utilize radiation. This radiation exposure is of particular concern for our surgical patients as the radiation penetrates deeper into the body and for the surgeons that are exposed consistently overtime. Ultrasound imaging (US) provides us with an alternative to using radiation but produces blurry images. This makes it difficult for computer systems to accurately find bone or cartilage surfaces which is necessary in order for the imaging to be useful in the operating and to create an accurate model of the developing hip joint. Our group has had strong success in using a new technique to quickly find bone and cartilage surfaces in US images. Our team of engineers and surgeons will work in collaboration with a local company that specializes in ultrasound machines to address some important applications in pediatrics orthopaedics, including femoral and pelvic fracture repairs and dysplasia diagnosis, by building purpose-specific machines that can be tested in both the lab and clinical settings. If we are successful, ultrasound will become a useful complement to intra-operative imaging and could replace 2D ultrasound with a more reliable tool. Trauma patients will benefit from improved accuracy and functional outcomes while decreasing radiation exposure. Infant dysplasia diagnosis will become more reliable and will decrease under- and over-treatment. This advancement in technology would allow our commercial partner to expand into significant new markets.