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Investigating the role of habitual loading on healing outcomes in mouse models.
Mechanical loading can accelerate or impair bone healing. Our lab has developed an in vivo experimental setup that permits gait analysis and deformation measurements within a bone fracture in mice. The aim of this project is to analyse data sets from both healthy young mice and prematurely aged mice
Keywords: Mechanobiology, Bone Fracture, Bone Regeneration, Habitual Loading
Mechanical loading of fracture sites can either accelerate or impair bone healing. Too much or too little strain at the fracture site can delay healing or lead to non-unions. Identifying the optimal mechanical environment at the fracture site will result in faster healing and the best outcomes in terms of bone strength and structure. Our lab has developed an in vivo experimental setup (consisting of the CatWalk XT Gait Analysis system and strain gauges) that permits gait analysis and deformation measurements within a femoral defect in mice. This allows us to analyze the gait and measure the habitual loading applied by the mouse at the fracture site. To date, we have collected large data sets in both healthy young mice and prematurely aged mice. Analysis of these data sets will involve gait analysis software, LabVIEW, python scripts and statistical software.
This is a cross-disciplinary project that will ideally suit a candidate with an engineering (biomedical, mechanical or electrical) or medical technology background and an interest in musculoskeletal research.
Mechanical loading of fracture sites can either accelerate or impair bone healing. Too much or too little strain at the fracture site can delay healing or lead to non-unions. Identifying the optimal mechanical environment at the fracture site will result in faster healing and the best outcomes in terms of bone strength and structure. Our lab has developed an in vivo experimental setup (consisting of the CatWalk XT Gait Analysis system and strain gauges) that permits gait analysis and deformation measurements within a femoral defect in mice. This allows us to analyze the gait and measure the habitual loading applied by the mouse at the fracture site. To date, we have collected large data sets in both healthy young mice and prematurely aged mice. Analysis of these data sets will involve gait analysis software, LabVIEW, python scripts and statistical software.
This is a cross-disciplinary project that will ideally suit a candidate with an engineering (biomedical, mechanical or electrical) or medical technology background and an interest in musculoskeletal research.
We are interested in answering the following:
- Does the habitual loading applied in the early stages of the healing process predict healing outcomes (assessed by CT, histology)?
- Does the loading applied influence the quality of the newly-formed bone?
- How are these relationships affected by aging?
We are interested in answering the following:
- Does the habitual loading applied in the early stages of the healing process predict healing outcomes (assessed by CT, histology)?
- Does the loading applied influence the quality of the newly-formed bone?