Mechanical Engineering Seminar

MRI and biomechanical modeling of the ACL injured knee

Thomas S. Buchanan, Ph.D.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

University of Delaware

Abstract

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are a substantial health problem, affecting 125,000 people per year with surgical replacement costs of over $1 billion/yr in the USA alone. My goal is to examine different treatment paths for ACL injured people with a focus on long-term prognosis for future knee problems such as osteoarthritis. In this talk, I will discuss studies my colleagues and I have done to explore ACL repair. These involve using dynamic MRI to explore how ACL-injured knee kinematics differ from those of unimpaired knees, standing MRI to understand differences in joint contact surface areas, EMGs to investigate differences in neural control, and biomechanical modeling to determine how forces in ACL deficient knees are distributed to other tissues. Together, these studies provide a glimpse into the mechanics of the ACL injured knee.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008, 10:20 am


3540 Engineering


Refreshments served at 10:10 am


If you would like to spend some time with Dr. Thomas Buchanan,

please contact 
Dr. Guy Raguin at raguin@egr.msu.edu or 432-3192


Biography

Professor Buchanan received his BS from the University of California, San Diego, in Applied Mechanics & Engineering Sciences (Bioengineering) in 1980. He obtained his MS in Biomedical Engineering in 1982 and PhD in Theoretical & Applied Mechanics in 1986, both from Northwestern University. He did post-doctoral work at MIT in Brain & Cognitive Sciences and then returned to Northwestern University Medical School as a post-doc and was later given a faculty appointment there in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. From there, he moved to the University of Delaware's Department of Mechanical Engineering to found the Center for Biomedical Engineering Research.

Currently, Dr. Buchanan is Professor and Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Applied Biomechanics and am on the editorial board of the Journal of Biomechanics. He just completed a two-year term as chair the NIH Subcommittee on Function, Integration and Rehabilitation for the National Center for Rehabilitation Research. He holds the rank of Fellow of the ASME. Professor Buchanan is PI on multiple NIH grants. These include "FES and Biomechanics: Treating Movement Disorders", "Center of Biomedical Research Excellence for Women in Science & Engineering on Osteoarthritis", and the "ACL Injuried Knee: MRI and Biomechanical Modeling".