Using Biomechanical Engineering to Prevent Spinal Cord Injuries

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Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) are devastating events that usually leave victims partially or completely paralyzed below the level of the injury. These injuries happen most often to healthy young men in their 20s but the vulnerable child and elderly populations also suffer these injuries, and their devastating consequences, at an alarming rate. The long-term objectives of this research program are to experimentally determine the mechanisms of spinal cord injury at the level of the spinal column (bones, discs and ligaments of the spine) and spinal cord and especially at the interface of the cord and column. These SCI injury mechanisms are poorly understood at all ages although the injury mechanisms at the level of the spinal column has been extensively studied in healthy adults and for this reason column injury mechanisms in this population are the best understood presently. However, this work has primarily been done using cadaveric spinal columns and little work has been done incorporating either muscles and/or Spinal Cord tissue. If the effect of musculature, spinal posture, spinal column degeneration (in the elderly) and spinal column development (in children) could be determined then many advances in injury prevention and treatment would result. For instance it would allow the development of improved age-specific injury prevention devices, improved clinical screening techniques, improved playground, geriatric and automotive environments, improved conditioning exercises and improved treatments for SCI that are tailored to the actual age-related cord injuries. This application is the second renewal of my original NSERC Discovery Grant on this topic that was funded for five years starting in 2003 then renewed for five years in 2009. I was invited to reapply early, as one of six applicants from UBC, in order to be considered for the Discovery Accelerator Supplement. We have used the original grants to establish ongoing projects to develop an improved sports and transportation helmet to prevent spinal cord injuries during head first impact and for projects focused on preventing these injuries in the vulnerable geriatric and pediatric populations.