BIOENGINEERING 405 Center for Bioengineering | 300 Technology Drive | Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Savio L-Y. Woo, PhD, D.Sc., D.Eng. Distinguished University Professor Director, Musculoskeletal Research Center
P: 412-648-2000 F: 412-648-2001 ddecenzo@pitt.edu
Knee Joint Biomechanics & Robotics Laboratory Tissue Mechanics Laboratory Mechanobiology Laboratory Dr. Savio L-Y. Woo is a Distinguished University Professor of Bioengineering and the Founding Director of the Musculoskeletal Research Center (MSRC), a diverse multidisciplinary research and educational center. Dr. Woo is a pioneer in bioengineering and is renowned for his 40+ years of translational research in healing and repair of tissues. Together with hundreds of students, resident, fellows and junior faculty member, the teams have published 320 original research papers in refereed journals as well as 146 book chapters and review articles. The outcome of their work has directly impacted the management of ligament and tendon injuries including clinical paradigm shifts that has led to significant improvement in patient outcome.
Currently, Dr. Woo’s research focuses on: 1) accurate measurement of the biomechanical properties of ligaments and tendons and in-vitro and in-vivo joint mechanics and function, and 2) using functional tissue engineering (FTE) strategies to biologically accelerate the healing and regeneration of ligaments and tendons. Dr. Woo is the inventor of the robotic/UFS testing system, or “Smart” Robot, to determine joint kinematics under unrestricted, multiple degrees-offreedom (DOF) motion and in-situ forces of soft tissues and their replacements in a non-contact way. The system collects data of ligaments and their replacement grafts from the same specimen; thus eliminates interspecimen variations and increases statistical power (repeated measures ANOVA). This powerful apparatus has now been adopted by more than 30 other laboratories. Dr. Woo has worked in collaboration at the Steadman Philippon Research Institute on using a bi-planar fluoroscopy system that can capture bone motions to within 0.2mm/0.2° accuracy. Thus, this new system can obtain in-vivo kinematic data to help characterize the function of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and understand mechanisms of ACL injury that could lead to better ways for injury prevention. More recently, Dr. Woo and his team are designing biodegradable and bioresorbable magnesium (Mg) devices. These devices can aid soft tissue (e.g. ACL) healing and then be programmed to degrade so that the healing tissue would take over the loads so that it could become better and stronger. The devices can also be used together with extracellular matrix scaffolds and hydrogels to further accelerate the healing process.
Selected Referenced Journal Articles Woo, S.L-Y., Fox, R.J., Sakane, M., Livesay, G.A., and Rudy, T.W.: Biomechanics of the ACL: Measurements of In Situ Force in the ACL and Knee Kinematics. Knee, 5:267-288, 1998.
DEPARTMENT OF BIOENGINEERING
Torry, M.R., Shelburne, K.B., Peterson, D., Giphart, J.E., Krong, J., Steadman, J.R., Woo, S.L-Y.: Knee Kinematic Profiles During Drop Landings: A Bi-Plane Fluoroscopy Study. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43(3):525-532, 2011.
Farraro, K.F., Kim, K.E., Woo, S.L-Y., Flowers, J.R., McCullough, M.B.: Revolutionizing Orthopaedic Biomaterials: The Potential of Biodegradable and Bioresorbable Magnesium-Based Materials for Functional Tissue Engineering. J. of Biomechanics, 47(9):1979-1986, 2014.
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