MRI: Acquisition of a Robotic Joint Simulator for In-vitro Testing of the Musculoskeletal System

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award supports the acquisition of a robotic joint simulator (simulator) that can apply physiological loading and kinematic conditions to cadaveric or prosthetic joints, including the knee, hip, shoulder, and spine. As the only robotic system of its kind in the Northwest region of the United States, this instrument will enable researchers at Boise State University, as well as partnering universities and hospitals, to study the mechanical origins of pervasive and debilitating disorders in the human musculoskeletal system, and to develop and evaluate treatment and prevention strategies for these disorders.

The robotic system will stimulate cross-college and inter-disciplinary collaborative research between engineers, biologists, local clinicians, and orthopaedic device companies. The team will integrate the instrument into five undergraduate and graduate courses to engage students in hands-on experiential learning activities. In addition, the simulator will provide real-world training opportunities for the large cohort of undergraduate and graduate students actively involved in musculoskeletal research projects at Boise State, with a majority of these students from groups underrepresented in STEM fields.

Fundamental knowledge gaps currently exist in how human movement leads to musculoskeletal disorders, and what clinical strategies are best able to prevent and treat these disorders. The acquired instrument can address these gaps by recreating the complex six degrees of freedom loads and motions that human joints experience on a daily basis. The simulator will enable potentially-transformative research on tissue-level strains repetitive joint loads that lead to injury of the meniscus and cartilage, joint kinematics associated with knee instability, specimen-specific patellar and soft tissue loads that lead to patellar dislocation, and cellular-level loads and corresponding cell response that stimulate osteogenesis in bone marrow analogs.

Further, data obtained from the simulator can be used to validate the accuracy of computational joint models that can guide patient-specific surgical interventions.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.