Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

The spine is a complex composite structure intricately comprised of various biological tissues. Specific tissues include tendons, ligaments, bone, and the uniquely designed intervertebral disc (IVD). These tissues, along with muscles and nerves, must work together to provide both flexibility and support in the spine. This grant requests funds to purchase a specialized material testing system that will allow for the quantification of the mechanical properties of these spinal tissues, and in particular the IVD. Specifically, the configuration of this testing system allows for the measurement of soft, flexible strip-like tissue samples. The tissues of the IVD are the ideal shape and composition for mechanical testing using the system requested in this grant. Further, the system comes equipped with different tissue mounting clamps to increase its versatility for testing other soft biological tissues such as muscle, ligaments, tendons, and skin. This system will help answer key questions about the spine such as 1) How does preexisting damage to the spine alter the mechanical properties of the IVD? 2) How do changes in the protein concentration and cell types in the tissues of the spine alter the mechanical properties of the IVD? Answers to these questions will help uncover important information regarding the integrity of the spine following exposure to various stimuli, both mechanical and physiological. Low back pain, which can occur due to changes in the mechanical properties of the IVD and other tissues of the spine, is experienced by 80% of the Canadian population at some point in their lives. As a result, the primary goal of the research that will be conducted with the requested tissue testing system is to discover the basic mechanics of the spine and to determine how IVD structure (eg. protein and cell composition of the various components of the IVD, presence of existing damage) alters these mechanics.