Research and Innovation

The Biomaterials Area of the Orthopedic Research Laboratory conducts application-based research for the development and characterization of current and novel biomaterials.

Primarily, the Biomaterials section conducts development and validation studies of current and novel materials (metals, ceramics, polymers and composites) for use in all orthopedic subspecialties. In addition, Biomaterials research supports projects in the Biomechanics, Implant Retrieval and Analysis and Joint Wear Simulation sections of the laboratory.

Current Research Projects

• Resorbable Nanocomposites as Bone Graft Substitutes
• Novel Calcium Phosphate Coatings to Promote Bone Growth and Deliver Pharmaceuticals
• Biologic Response of Chondrocytes to Metallic and Polymeric Wear Debris.
• Cell and Growth Factor-Augmented Regeneration of the Intervertebral Disc.

Research Interests

• Surface/Interface Chemistry
• Osteoinductivity
• Advanced Bearing Materials
• Resorbable Polymers
• Corrosion
• Material-Cell and Material-Tissue Interactions
• Polymer Synthesis
• Nanocomposites
• Tissue Engineering

The Biomechanics Area of the Orthopedic Research Laboratory conducts research for the development and validation of surgical procedures and orthopedic medical devices. Using cadaveric models, researchers are able to reconstruct patient injuries and conditions as well as surgical techniques.

Current Research Projects

• Subscapularis Repair Strength
• Glenoid Component Fixation
• Influence of Wound VAC placement on compartment pressures following fasciotomy

The focus of the Implant Retrieval and Analysis section is a comprehensive electronic database combined with long-term library-based system of retrieved orthopedic devices for evaluation and analyses. The database features de-identified patient information such as manufacturer, surgeon, and date of revision surgery. Also, the database contains a system detailing the exact location of each retrieved device via a unique "Explant ID" number given to each retrieved device.

Retrieved devices are utilized in resident and fellow research. Currently, the Implant Retrieval and Analysis section is populating a database in order to create a library system of the devices for ease of locating specific devices. In the future, the Implant Retrieval and Analysis section plans to expand the database and library by collecting retrieved devices from additional hospitals and institutions.  

Principal Investigator: Perry Greene, M.D.

Current Research Projects

• Radiographic and Damage Mode Analysis of Retrieved DePuy Agility Ankle Arthroplasty Systems
• High Rate of Corrosion of Retrieved 316L Stainless Steel Plates Used in Posterior Thoracolumbar Fixation
• Radiographic and Damage Mode Analyses of Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty Systems: A Retrieval Study

Research Interests

• Wear analysis
• Failure analysis
• Non-destructive testing and analysis
• Nanotechnology related to biomaterials
• Database design

The implant retrieval and analysis program is supported by a generous gift from Byron and Dorothy Gerson to establish the Byron and Dorothy Gerson Implant Analysis Fund.

The Joint Wear Simulation Area of the Orthopedic Research Laboratory was established in August 2007. Beaumont received the twelve-station hip simulator as a donation from Kettering University (Flint, Michigan) and created a new Orthopedic Research laboratory specifically for the purpose of studying joint wear. This equipment allows a total hip joint replacement to be tested under conditions approximating those occurring in the human body. The primary goal of the Joint Wear Simulation Laboratory is to provide research opportunities and resources our orthopedic surgeons and residents. The uniqueness of the new Joint Wear Simulation Laboratory has created opportunities for Beaumont to conduct research with industrial partners investigating alternative bearing surfaces and unique prosthetic designs.

The joint wear simulation laboratory continues to focus on several areas of orthopedics from implant design to modifying component fixation. Continued collaboration with industry and academic institutions with the goal of improving orthopedic materials and techniques is an ongoing process. This collaboration is necessary to improve device design and increase patient safety. The laboratory continually focuses on innovative research involving different anatomic locations and devices utilizing many testing abilities and equipment at the lab. Patients remain our most important customer and the focus of all our research projects. 

Current Research Projects

• Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty Wear Simulation
• Novel Biomaterial Wear Simulation
• Antibiotic Release from Acrylic Bone Cement
• Cemented Acetabular Liner

Research Interests

• Particle wear analysis
• Unigraphics based designing
• Joint simulation via custom programming

Whether a high-energy rupture of the ACL in a linebacker or a chronic tear of the rotator cuff in a star baseball pitcher, sports-related injuries and their repairs provide constant challenges to physicians, engineers, and scientists alike. 

To understand the mechanisms of both injury and regeneration more accurately, the Sports Medicine division of Orthopedic Research at Beaumont is performing diverse research ranging from surgical outcomes assessing post-operative strength to improving grafting techniques, tissue engineering-based drug delivery, as well as biomechanical analyses of articulating joints to hone in on the causes of osteoarthritis.

The mission of the Sports Medicine division is to work closely with Orthopedic Surgeons to characterize pathologies in the orthopedic realm and move one step closer to ridding patients of debilitating outcomes due to these injuries.

Current Research Projects

• Post-operative Repair Appearance and Strength after Rotator Cuff Repair
• Ulnar fixation in Elbow Ligament Reconstruction
• Biologically-enhanced Microfracture Surgery
• Cellulose-based Drug Delivery System for Rotator Cuff Regeneration
• Biomechanics and Geometry of the Shoulder Joint and how they relate to Osteoarthritis
• Improved Healing of the ACL using Growth Factors
• Changes in Vascularity following two types of Rotator Cuff Repairs
• Agreement in the Radiographic Evaluation of Acromioclavicular Dislocations
• Characterization and Inhibition of Matrix metalloproteinase Release from Platelet Rich Plasma
• Tissue engineering-based regeneration of the Intervertebral Disc

To conduct such a large variety of research, many important techniques are utilized. These include the synthesis of novel polymer biomaterials, quantification of biological substances using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and immuno-based assays such as multiplexing bead arrays or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), qualitative and quantitative analysis of biomaterials, biologic substances, cells, and tissues using light microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, confocal microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, biomechanical testing of tissues and constructs using servohydraulic and electromechanical testing systems, tissue and cell culture, wear simulation of implants, and several others.

The focus of the Advanced Imaging and Simulation section of the Beaumont Orthopaedic Research Laboratory is to enhance clinical and laboratory research through the application of a range of innovative two and three-dimensional imaging, simulation, and image analysis techniques. Clinical research into applications of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) is geared toward finding new ways to use existing imaging modalities for diagnosis of difficult pathologies.

Advanced imaging techniques are also being used to expand laboratory research, including high resolution characterization of biomaterials, implant wear and preclinical models of tissue regeneration. In addition, contrast-enhanced imaging techniques are being developed and applied to quantitatively measure important biomarkers of degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis. These objectives have been aided by the acquisition of an environmental scanning electron microscope in collaboration with Lawrence Technological University, capable of sub-micrometer resolution, as well as the recent acquisition of a high resolution research microCT at the Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, capable of three-dimensional imaging at micrometer-level resolutions.

The Orthoapedic Research Laboratory is also currently developing a finite element (FE) analysis platform. The FE method can be used to model new implant designs, yielding important information about performance before any physical testing has been performed. FE modeling can also be combined with CT, microCT and MRI imaging techniques to produce patient-specific models of entire joints, making it possible to study joint loading and other important metrics which cannot be measured using standard imaging techniques, with the goal of improving the understanding and diagnosis of difficult pathologies.

Current Research Projects

• Quantitative imaging of intervertebral disc degeneration and regeneration via contrast-enhanced microCT
• Detection of early osteoarthritic changes using T1ρ and T2* MRI
• Contrast-enhanced microCT in the characterization of post-traumatic osteoarthritis
• Characterization of tendon-bone contact area associated with tibial fixation devices in ACL reconstruction
• Three-dimensional distance mapping of wear patterns in reverse total shoulder arthroplasty liners
• Fully automated femoral cartilage segmentation from clinically relevant MRI sequences
• Three-dimensional characterization of novel materials in bone scaffold tissue engineering

Research Interests

• Contrast-enhanced microCT
• Three-dimensional modeling and image analysis
• Automated image segmentation
• Patient specific FE modeling

World-class orthopedic surgeons at Beaumont treat a broad spectrum of orthopedic injuries and diseases. As technology and surgical techniques advance, the feasibility of using advanced tissue engineering and regenerative medicine techniques to enhance the repair and regeneration of musculoskeletal tissues become a reality.

The Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine section of the Orthopedic Research Laboratory conducts clinically-relevant research focused on the use of a variety of technologies to improve healing and regeneration of bone, ligament, intervertebral disc, articular cartilage, and tendon. Fueled by the generation of novel biomaterials in the Biomaterials area of the lab, engineers and surgeons combine biomaterials, and biologic factors to improve outcomes following orthopedic injury and surgery.

Researchers in the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine section also partner with industry to evaluate new materials and technologies used in orthopedic surgery. This industry partnership is enhanced by the robust, cutting-edge research resources at Beaumont, which allow researchers to facilitate a variety of in vitro and in vivo characterization.

Frequently, our researchers and surgeons develop and employ techniques that utilize patients’ own stem cell to improve healing and regeneration. This new technique has garnered significant interest from the community, resulting in several peer-reviewed grants being awarded over the past 12 months. These projects focus on a technique that encourage a patient’s own stem cells to migrate to the site of injury or surgical repair to promote healing and regeneration in the setting of spine fusion, Achilles tendon rupture, rotator cuff healing, and in the prevention of post-traumatic osteoarthritis.

Current Research Projects

• Prevention of post-traumatic osteoarthritis following ACL rupture. (Funded by AOSSM)
• Stem cell-enhanced surgical repair of the Achilles tendon. (Funded by AOFAS)
• Promotion of cervical and lumbar spine fusion via endogenous stem cells. (Funded by CSRS and AO Spine North America)
• Elucidating the role of local stem cells in promoting lumbar spine fusion. (Funded by CSRS)
• Use of resorbable composite scaffolds in combination with chemokine-directed stem cell homing to improve spine fusion
• Use of novel biomaterial conjugates for pharmaceutical delivery to reduce the incidence and severity of post-traumatic osteoarthritis

Research Interests

• Stem cell mobilization and recruitment to enhance healing and tissue regeneration
• Directed stem cell differentiation via cell-material interactions and novel biotherapeutics
• Osteoinductivity and osteoconductivity of scaffold materials and biotherapeutics