Biomechanical testing of the human spine
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Biomechanical testing of the human spine
IRAS ID
170894
Contact name
Ruth Wilcox
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Unviersity of Leeds
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
EP/K020757/1, Funder 2 Reference Number
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Within the last week, it is estimated that 67 million people across Europe will have suffered from back pain. Despite the scale of the problem, the treatment of back pain remains relatively unsuccessful and many procedures are still in their infancy. One reason for their poor success is that it is difficult to rigorously test and optimise new interventions before they are introduced into clinic. These ‘preclincial’ tests are often undertaken under standardised conditions that do not reflect the large variation that exists from one patient to another.
The aim of this research programme is to develop improved experimental and computer preclinical testing methods for new spinal treatments, to enable therapies to be optimised during the design phase before costly animal studies and clinical trials. A range of treatments will be investigated including vertebroplasty (to treat spinal fractures) and nucleus augmentation (to treat degeneration of the spinal discs).
This research programme will use spine specimens from a human tissue retrieval project. Each specimen will be imaged in 3D using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT). The specimens will be tested in the laboratory to determine their mechanical behaviour and how this varies from one specimen to another, as well as before and after treatment. The 3D images will be used to build computer models of each specimen. We will first validate the computer models by comparing the predictions with the results of the experimental tests. The models will then be used to examine many more treatment scenarios. These models will also form a database for use in future studies since, unlike the cadaveric specimens, each computer model can be used over and over again. Importantly, the models can be used to examine how a treatment would work across many different patients, rather than the ‘standardised’ tests used currently.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/YH/0096
Date of REC Opinion
26 Feb 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion