Final Report Summary - BACKTOBACK (Engineering Solutions for Back Pain: Simulation of Patient Variance)
The aim of this project was to develop improved methods for testing new treatments for back pain. Surgical treatments for vertebral fractures and intervertebral disc degeneration are less successful than many other orthopaedic procedures. This is partly because there are limited methods available for testing and optimising new implants or surgical procedures before they are introduced clinically. Through this project, a suite of new testing methods were developed using both laboratory and computer models. New laboratory methods were developed to test treatments for the intervertebral disc. Computer models of individual spinal segments were developed from advanced 3D clinical imaging. The models were validated by checking the predictions matched measurements taken on the same spinal segments tested in the laboratory. The computational models were then used to simulate how the outcomes of treatments vary across the differences seen in a patient population. Finally, the models were applied to aid the development of two new treatments for the intervertebral disc: one involving a minimally invasive injection of a new biomaterial, and one in which the disc is replaced by a natural scaffold. Both treatments showed promising outcomes and are being further developed.
The methods developed in this project can now also be used to evaluate and optimise other spinal treatments, increasing their chances of success when they are used in clinical practice.
The methods developed in this project can now also be used to evaluate and optimise other spinal treatments, increasing their chances of success when they are used in clinical practice.