MRI: Acquisition of a Robotic Joint Simulator for In-vitro Testing of the Musculoskeletal System

该主要研究仪器（MRI）奖支持获得机器人关节模拟器（模拟器），该模拟器可以应用生理载荷和运动学条件到尸体或假体关节，包括膝盖，髋关节，肩部和脊柱。作为美国西北地区唯一的同类机器人系统，该仪器将使博伊西州立大学以及合作大学和医院的研究人员能够研究人类肌肉骨骼系统中普遍和衰弱性疾病的机械起源，并制定和评估这些疾病的治疗和预防策略。机器人系统将促进工程师、生物学家、当地临床医生和矫形设备公司之间的跨学院和跨学科合作研究。该团队将把该仪器整合到五门本科和研究生课程中，让学生参与动手体验式学习活动。此外，该模拟器将为博伊西州立大学积极参与肌肉骨骼研究项目的大量本科生和研究生提供现实世界的培训机会，其中大多数学生来自STEM领域代表性不足的群体。在人类运动如何导致肌肉骨骼疾病，以及哪些临床策略能够最好地预防和治疗这些疾病方面，目前存在着基本的知识空白。获得的仪器可以通过重建人类关节每天经历的复杂的六个自由度负载和运动来解决这些空白。该模拟器将使组织水平的应变、导致半月板和软骨损伤的重复性关节负荷、与膝关节不稳定相关的关节运动学、导致髌骨脱位的标本特异性髌骨和软组织负荷、以及刺激骨髓类似物成骨的细胞水平负荷和相应的细胞反应等方面的潜在变革性研究成为可能。此外，从模拟器获得的数据可用于验证计算关节模型的准确性，从而指导患者特定的手术干预。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award supports the acquisition of a robotic joint simulator (simulator) that can apply physiological loading and kinematic conditions to cadaveric or prosthetic joints, including the knee, hip, shoulder, and spine. As the only robotic system of its kind in the Northwest region of the United States, this instrument will enable researchers at Boise State University, as well as partnering universities and hospitals, to study the mechanical origins of pervasive and debilitating disorders in the human musculoskeletal system, and to develop and evaluate treatment and prevention strategies for these disorders. The robotic system will stimulate cross-college and inter-disciplinary collaborative research between engineers, biologists, local clinicians, and orthopaedic device companies. The team will integrate the instrument into five undergraduate and graduate courses to engage students in hands-on experiential learning activities. In addition, the simulator will provide real-world training opportunities for the large cohort of undergraduate and graduate students actively involved in musculoskeletal research projects at Boise State, with a majority of these students from groups underrepresented in STEM fields. Fundamental knowledge gaps currently exist in how human movement leads to musculoskeletal disorders, and what clinical strategies are best able to prevent and treat these disorders. The acquired instrument can address these gaps by recreating the complex six degrees of freedom loads and motions that human joints experience on a daily basis. The simulator will enable potentially-transformative research on tissue-level strains repetitive joint loads that lead to injury of the meniscus and cartilage, joint kinematics associated with knee instability, specimen-specific patellar and soft tissue loads that lead to patellar dislocation, and cellular-level loads and corresponding cell response that stimulate osteogenesis in bone marrow analogs. Further, data obtained from the simulator can be used to validate the accuracy of computational joint models that can guide patient-specific surgical interventions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.