Basic Science
Talent and Collaboration: Intellectual Synergy
The collaboration between basic scientists performing bench-level (laboratory)
research and physicians conducting clinical (patient-oriented) research is
the hallmark of the Orthopaedic Research Center at the Cleveland Clinic.
Basic science studies explain how healthy tissues function, why they change
in various diseases, and what makes certain people prone to developing a disease
or sustaining an injury. Clinical research systematically evaluates which treatments
work best in caring for patients with musculoskeletal disorders.
The Orthopaedic Research Center has more than 30 principal investigators – many
of whom are internationally recognized leaders in their field – in addition
to some 150 graduate students, clinical and research fellows, residents, medical
students, engineers, technicians and support personnel. Daily interaction among
these groups allows discoveries in the basic sciences to be applied to patient
care much more rapidly.
Center investigators also collaborate extensively with researchers from outside
organizations such as the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA),
biomedical corporations, and local, national and international institutions
and universities.
A History of Accomplishments
Many discoveries by our basic researchers and innovations by our orthopaedic
surgeons are being translated into clinical practice, or already have been.
Examples include:
- New total joint replacement and bone-lengthening techniques
- Invention of the Kurosaka screw, the world’s most widely used device for
fixation of bone-tendon-bone grafts in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.
Such fixation devices allow for early postoperative motion and permissive
rehabilitation
- Use of pre-emptive analgesia to streamline rehabilitation and improve outcome
after ACL reconstruction
- Pioneering use of biomechanical validation for posterior cruciate ligament
(PCL) reconstruction, the tibial inlay technique
- Development of a unique method for harvesting and concentrating stem cells
from bone marrow to enhance healing of tendon, cartilage, ligaments and bone
after surgery, injury, or disease
- Identifying the drop in connective-tissue progenitor cells in bone marrow
with age, which may be important in the development of osteoporosis
- Helping design and test hip, knee and shoulder prostheses, and optimize
their function
- Refinement of kyphoplasty, a minimally invasive surgical treatment for
spinal fractures due to osteoporosis or spinal tumors
- Development of new instruments for minimally invasive, arthroscopic and
standard surgery in the shoulder, knee, hip and spine
- Advances in preserving peripheral nerve allografts in immunosuppressive
therapy for their transplantation
Center researchers have also helped to advance scientific understanding and
treatment in such areas as:
- Foot prosthetics and gait
- Prevention of hip fractures from falls
- Prevention of knee ligament injuries in sport
- Genetic control of skeletal development
- Surgical correction of knee-ligament injuries
- Diabetic foot ulcers
- Musculoskeletal tumor registries and clinical research
Go the Basic Science Research or Clinical
Research pages of this site for information on the current research and
the Orthopaedic Research Center researchers.
