RESEARCH
Results That Change Lives The CORE Institute is Leading the Country in One-of-a-Kind Research By Dolores Tropiano A shoulder injury can turn such simple tasks as tucking in a shirt or buttoning a blouse into a burden. A severe impairment can even put eating out of reach, limiting the ability to lift a spoon or fork to the mouth. The CORE Institute is leading the country in research that is helping people with shoulder injuries to lead productive, pain-free lives. BIOMECHANICS LAB The research takes place in The MORE Foundation’s Biomechanics Lab. Inside the lab, a state-of-the-art robotic Shoulder Controller tests implants and other orthopedic devices used to treat shoulder problems caused by arthritis, osteoarthritis or rotator cuff tears. The results of their research benefit both The CORE Institute patients and shoulder implant manufacturers. “It is the only one of its kind in the country,” said Dr. Marc MARC JACOFSKY, PhD Jacofsky, Executive Vice President of Research and Development at The CORE Institute and the Research Director for The MORE Foundation, a Musculoskeletal-Orthopedic Research and Education Foundation. “There are other machines that purport to be similar, but are not as advanced.” The Shoulder Controller is capable of simulating the muscles in the shoulder through lifelike movements. It records and tests the strength of implants and
FOR MORE INFORMATION Information about The MORE Foundation, please visit www.more-foundation.org the range of motion they can provide patients. Studies have found that individuals who undergo total shoulder arthroplasties experience an 83 percent reduction in moderate to extreme pain over a 12-year period. “We put the implant in the cadaver, put the cadaver into the robot and attach all the muscles to the motors and it moves the way the shoulder would move if a living person had received that implant,” explained Jacofsky. “Our robot pulls on different cables with motors in the same way a puppeteer moves a marionette.” SIMULATING MOVEMENT The research has helped enhance surgical planning and given the medical community a clearer understanding of the effectiveness of an implant. “Our robotic shoulder testing machine can simulate the way a shoulder implant can perform when in the body in a way no other machine can simulate,” continued Jacofsky. “Will a patient be able to tuck their shirt in? Will they be able to comb
their hair? We can get after activities of daily living and really simulate that in a robotic environment.” The technology has put The MORE Foundation in demand with implant manufacturers throughout the country. The Foundation has performed five different studies for two different manufacturers, examining such things as range of motion and contact between implant and bone and modifying the implant to improve muscle function. “The companies are now coming to us and asking us to test their design before it goes to market or the human shoulder,” said Jacofsky. More importantly, The CORE Institute’s patients are benefiting from the medical center’s advanced technology. “We can diagnose problems with implants much earlier than if we put the implants in a living person and then have to wait years for problems to develop,” Jacofsky said. “Our physicians are at the leading edge of the best practices and best implants available for our patients.”
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