The project with the goal to ensure a long term regeneration of the joints functionality runs for a period of three years.
Markus Heller, researcher at the Julius Wolff Institute of the Charité, took over the coordination of the European project "MXL". The project started at the beginning of 2010 and runs for a period of three years (till the end of 2012). The MXL project is funded by the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and its full title is "Enhanced patient safety by computational Modelling from clinically available X-rays to minimise the risk of overload and instability for optimised function and joint Longevity". It is a joint project of 10 partners from Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and the Netherlands. All together seven universities or research institutes and three small businesses are involved. The Julius Wolff Institute of the Charité coordinates the project and provides its sound expertise in measuring and modeling kinematics and joint loading.
The project aims to develop training and planning tools by using biomechanical know-how to provide surgeons with an accurate, patient specific prediction of the outcome of joint surgery. The goal is to ensure a long term regeneration of the joints functionality.Currently, joint surgeons can only rely on clinical available 2D X-rays and their own experience to plan and control the surgical procedure of joint replacements. Detailed biomechanical information about the results and the outcome of the surgery, especially the highly important interaction between muscles, ligaments and joints, are still not available for surgeons. And although well over one million joint surgeries are performed every year within the EU, a great number of reconstructions fail because of complications that are mostly a consequence of joint overload and instability. To minimize the risk of failure of joint surgeries, scientists with various research backgrounds work together to develop a planning tool based on clinical imaging. With this tool surgeons will be able to assess the patient's individual anatomy and analyze the relevant mechanical parameters of the joint in order to develop an optimal and customized strategy for the joint surgery. This will help to assess the interaction of the musculoskeletal system in order to specifically plan the joint surgery and minimize the risk of failure due to an inappropriate adjusted joint.
Contact
Julius Wolff Institute
Phone: +49 30 450 559 048
E-Mail: jwi(at)charite.de
Augustenburger Platz
113353 Berlin
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