Research Lab

The Arthroscopy, Surgical Skills And Biomechanical Laboratory

The ONSF Arthroscopy, Surgical Skills and Biomechanical Research Laboratory creates an ideal environment in which physicians maximally utilize their research skills and critically ask and answer musculoskeletal questions that affect all our lives. By researching, evaluating and communicating the most advanced surgical techniques, state-of-the art rehabilitation and surgical outcomes in orthopedics and neurosurgery, ONSF makes significant improvements in patient care.

Prior to performing surgical procedures on patients, physicians rely on biomechanical research to understand, model and predict how well potential procedures will perform. Using principles of mechanical engineering, we are able to study the strengths and weaknesses of individual components such as bones, ligaments and tendons. We further examine how groups of tissues and orthopedic reconstruction implants actually work together. As biomechanical researchers, we work toward improving not only our understanding of the body but also the design of devices needed to repair the body.

At the Lab, we have complemented the Fluoroscopy X-Ray Machine, generously donated by Greenwich Hospital, with a Hughston Auburn Rotational Testing ( H.A.R.T.)  machine that we acquired with the support of the Leon Lowenstein Foundation. This device is a three dimensional motion analysis machine that closely mimics a shoulder’s internal and external rotation providing a better understanding of how joints move relative to one another, thus recreating and controlling stress in the area.