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Project

The role of bone microstructure in osteoarthritis of the wrist

Hand and wrist osteoarthritis (OA) is a frequently encountered condition. There is no cure for OA. In severe cases, surgery is performed to reduce pain and improve mobility; yet, these procedures are associated with varying success rates, and controversy exists on which procedure is the optimal one. We hypothesize that, first, surgical treatment of wrist OA causes an altered load transfer through the joint. Second, we hypothesize that the alterations in load transfer cause an adaptive bone response leading to alterations in bone microstructure. And third, we hypothesize that these microstructural alterations can affect the longterm functional outcome of the surgical treatment. The objectives of this project are: (i) The quantification of bone microstructure following surgical treatment. (ii) The quantification of bone mechanical loading and loading alterations. (iii) The simulation of load-adaptive bone remodelling. (iv) The pre-operative prediction of a patient-specific post-operative outcome. After the successfull completion of this project, medical professionals will obtain more insight in the biomechanical phenomena that occur with osteoarthritis, and the underlying causes of the moderate success rates which cause a significant reduction in the patients’ quality of life. The research will be directly applicable in the treatment of hand and wrist OA, but will also provide a framework for further research of OA in other joints.

Date:15 Aug 2020 →  Today
Keywords:wrist osteoarthritis, Finite Element modeling, load-adaptive bone remodeling
Disciplines:System and whole body biomechanics, Rehabilitation engineering
Project type:PhD project