Vijay Goel, Ph.D.

Three American scientists are included among the winners of the International Awards given by the Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences, according to an official announcement that was given recently in Dubai.

H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and the Patron of the Award, will honor the three winners in a prestigious ceremony to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on the 12th of December, alongside 13 other personalities and organizations from UK, Switzerland, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan.

Prof. Vijay Goel, Distinguished University Professor, Endowed Chair, and McMaster Gardner Professor of Orthopaedic Bioengineering, as well as the Co-Director of Engineering Center for Orthopaedic Research Excellence (E-Core) in the University of Toledo, Ohio, USA, will be awarded the Hamdan International Award for Medical Research Excellence, for the topic of Orthopedic Mechanics. Prof. Goel made a significant leap in 3D finite element (FE) model development of the spine by identifying and adapting cutting-edge technology from a completely different discipline, stereophotogrammetry used in aerial surveying, to determine load displacement behavior of intact, injured, and stabilized spinal segments. He used these techniques to generate highly-accurate 3D mapping of the spine in the FE models. The ability to rapidly and accurately map 3D coordinates of the spine under loading conditions dramatically increased the utility of the models as a tool for analysis of spine biomechanics. Prof. Goel made the next major leap in model development by including muscle forces in the spine models, greatly increasing their predictive ability.

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4WEB Medical, the industry leader in 3D printed implant technology, announced the results of a new study demonstrating reduced subsidence for its Lateral Spine Truss System (LSTS) as compared to annular interbody implant designs today at the annual meeting of the North American Spine Society. The study was led by Vijay Goel, PhD at the University of Toledo, one of the country’s foremost orthopedic biomechanics institutes.

“Our biomechanical testing showed the 4WEB 18mm wide, 40mm long LSTS implant performed better in resisting subsidence than the competitive 21mm wide, 60mm long annular design lateral device. This finding was consistent across all density foam blocks tested. These results are indicative of the optimized load distribution that is inherent to the 4WEB truss implant technology,” said Vijay Goel, PhD at the University of Toledo.

4WEB’s proprietary open architecture truss design increases endplate to implant contact maximizing resistance to subsidence. The additive manufacturing process for truss technology provides a hierarchal surface roughness spanning from the nano to macro scale which may contribute to stimulating an osteogenic response… Continue reading.