TMJ Bioengineering Conference

颞下颌关节 (TMJ) 或颌关节是人体最复杂的关节之一。尽管患者群体庞大，并且与多种颞下颌关节疾病相关的显着发病率，但与骨科界感兴趣的关节相比，对颞下颌关节的研究还很有限。与骨科界不同，颞下颌关节研究界的工程师、科学家和临床医生之间不存在有组织的连续性。为了应对这种明显缺乏协调的开放沟通的情况，我们提议举办一次颞下颌关节生物工程会议。 TMJ 生物工程会议定于 2006 年 5 月 25 日至 27 日在科罗拉多州博尔德附近举行。这次会议将是第一次此类会议，它将患者和外科医生聚集在一起，向生物工程师提供具体指示。会议的总体目标是为生物工程师提供一个独特的论坛，与临床医生和患者交流想法和观点，努力确定治疗颞下颌关节疾病的当代挑战，并制定策略通过生物工程应对这些挑战。这一目标将通过以下具体目标来实现：1) 获得临床界的生物工程指令， 2) 将患者群体代表确定的需求纳入这些生物工程指令，以及 3) 为当前最先进的治疗和科学知识设定基准。我们选择了最重要的外科医生和患者群体来发布目标 1 和 2 的指令——美国颞下颌关节外科医生协会主席将根据其年会上制定的优先问题共识发表主题演讲，颞下颌关节协会患者组织主席将根据之前的会议以及数十年的经验以及与颞下颌关节患者的互动发表主题演讲。当代 TMJ 知识的基准将由 38 人进行评估 在组织工程、生物力学、生物学和临床治疗会议上发表演讲。这些指令的传播和重要讨论的总结将在一篇文章中发表，该文章将发表在主要生物工程专业协会生物医学工程学会的官方期刊《生物医学工程年鉴》上。此次会议的召开具有迫切的需求，它不仅将为未来的颞下颌关节生物工程会议奠定基础，而且还将通过发展连续性、促进合作和吸引更多人才进入该领域，成为颞下颌关节研究的里程碑式扩展。

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ), or jaw joint, is one of the most complex joints in the body. Despite the tremendous patient population and the significant morbidity related to a plethora of TMJ disorders, the TMJ has been poorly studied in comparison to joints of interest to the orthopaedic community. Unlike the orthopaedic community, there is no organized continuity between engineers, scientists and clinicians in the TMJ research community. In response to this striking lack of coordinated open communication, we are proposing to hold a TMJ Bioengineering Conference. The TMJ Bioengineering Conference is scheduled for May 25-27, 2006 near Boulder, CO. This meeting will be the first of its kind, bringing patients and surgeons together to deliver specific directives to bioengineers. The overall meeting objective is to provide a unique forum for bioengineers to exchange ideas and perspectives with clinicians and patients, in an effort to identify contemporary challenges with treating TMJ disorders and to devise strategies to address these challenges with bioengineering. This objective will be addressed by the following Specific Aims: 1) To obtain bioengineering directives from the clinical community, 2) To incorporate into these bioengineering directives needs as identified by representatives of the patient population, and 3) To set a benchmark for current state-of-the-art treatments and scientific knowledge. We have selected the premiere groups of surgeons and patients to issue the directives of aims 1 and 2?the president of the American Society of TMJ Surgeons will deliver a keynote address based on a consensus of priority issues formulated at their annual meeting, and the president of the TMJ Association patient organization will deliver a keynote address based on previous meetings and decades of experience and interaction with TMJ patients. A benchmark for contemporary knowledge of the TMJ will be assessed by 38 speakers in sessions on tissue engineering, biomechanics, biology and clinical treatment. Dissemination of these directives and a summary of salient discussions will be featured in an article that will go to the Annals of Biomedical Engineering, the official journal of the main bioengineering professional society, the Biomedical Engineering Society. There is a compelling need for this conference, which will set the stage not only for future TMJ-specific bioengineering meetings, but will also serve as a milestone expansion in TMJ research by developing continuity, fostering collaborations, and drawing more talent to the field.