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Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Health, Medical Disciplines Research
Programs: Current total joint replacement studies examine the function of artificial shoulders and knees. The foundation is conducting both human clinical trials and simulated biomechanical studies. Our clinical trials are examining a new shoulder replacement system, competing implantation techniques for total knee replacement, and the long term safety and function of a revision knee system. The foundation is also advancing the use of robotic testing machines for the shoulder and knee. These machines simulate realistic muscle forces to move the joints through a natural range of motion to study the performance of different implant designs and implantation techniques. This pioneering approach to testing joint replacements represents a great improvement over traditional testing techniques which do not adequately account for the unique anatomy of individual patients. The foundation performed a study examining different ways to fix hip fractures, which affect over 250,000 elderly americans each year. By using a unique screw system which allows for injecting a "cement" to stiffen around the screws, it may be possible to repair certain hip fractures with smaller incisions. Smaller incisions can correlate with reduced pain and suffering and more rapid return to activities of daily living.