Research & Technology Expertise

Research Expertise

The main focus of our research efforts is on Application of Engineering Principles in the Treatment of Tissue Damage. Our research involves 1) the development of novel fracture risk assessment techniques, 2) determining the ideal properties of an augmentation material for treatment of such fractures, and 3) the generation of a composite material, which is optimized for tissue ingrowth, that inherents the above determined properties and can be used as augmentation material for preventive treatment. Kinematic models of joints using virtualized reality supplements the post-operative predictability of the treatment outcome.

Established clinical collaborations with the following groups facilitate the clinical implementation of our research findings: MD Anderson Cancer Center / Department of Neurosurgery, MD Anderson Cancer Center / Department of Anesthesiology, the University of Texas / Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine / DeBakey Department of Surgery, Methodist Hospital and Methodist Hospital Research Instittue, St. Luke’Äôs Episcopal Hospital / Center for Orthopaedic Research and Education and Ohio State University / Department of Neurosurgery. Non-clinical collaborations are with Drexel University / Department of Mechanical Engineering, the University of Houston / Department of Physics / Department of Mechanical Engineering, the National University of Ireland Galway / Department of Biomedical Engineering Science and Baylor College of Medicine / Department of Pulmonary Medicine.

Through active and funded collaboration with faculties from Rice we started investigating the feasibility of acoustic sound wave conduction in the human musculoskeletal tissue for diagnostic purpose and as means to establish a wireless body area network. This work is funded mainly through industry grants, for example form Texas Instruments and Microsoft Research.

Ongoing Research Projects

-          Injury Prediction of Astronauts during Landing in Mars Spacecraft

-          OsteoConduct: a Novel Body Area Network Operating Platform Technology

-          Intra-Operative Visualization of Bone Cement Boli During Vertebroplasty

-          Intra-Operative Numerical Reconstruction of Patient Specific Anatomy

-          Intra-Operative Biomechanical Analysis ob the Human Spine

-          Load-Sharing Contribution of the Vertebral Shell to Overall Spine Biomechanics

-          Reduction of Geometric Modeling Error of Complex Bone Geometry from Plain X-Rays

-          Generation of Patient Specific Numerical Models Through Morphing

-          In-Silica Analysis of the Biomechanical Efficacy of Vertebroplasty for the Treatment of the Fractured Spine

-          In-Silica Analysis of the Biomechanical Efficacy of Vertebroplasty as Preventative Treatment for the Spine

-          Fluoroscopic Imaging as Alternative to Computed Tomography of Numerical Model Generation

-          Mechanical Driving Force for Bone Tissue Adaptation to Mechanical Loading

-          Optimization of Surgical Molds for Reconstructive Surgery

-          Composite Bone Cements for the Treatment of Spinal Metastasis

-          Bio-Printing for the Purpose of Toxicity Analysis of Nano-Material Cell Interaction

-          Changes in Fracture Pattern and Biomechanical Properties of Vertebroplasty Treated Vertebrae

-          Large Deformation Damage Model for Numerical Simulations of Tissue Compaction

-          Bio-Robotics for the Characterization of Vertebral Body Fracture Progression

-          Biorobotics for In-Vitro Simulation of Physiological Loading Conditions in Orthopaedic Joints

-          Generation of 3D Patient Specific Computer Model to Simulate TMJ Pathology Development

-          Computer Aided Tissue Engineering of Bone Replacement Tissue

Completed Research Projects

2001                 Effect of Bone Cement Material Properties on Biomechanics of Vertebroplasty

                        Computational Optimization of Materials Used for Vertebroplasty

                        Calibration of a Spine-Testing Machine Using Concomitant Methods

                        Biomechanical Evaluation of a Stackable Cage PLIF Device

                        Small Animal Testing System for the Determination of Bone Properties

                        Intra-Operative Contouring of Spinal Implants

                        Digital Contouring of Orthopaedic Implants

2002                 Motion Kinematics Analysis of the Normal Temporomandibular Joint

                        Design and Installation of a Safety Mechanism Around Robotic Arm

                        Tracking and Analyzing Pelvic-Spine Rotation Using Optical Tracking

                        Non-Linear Modeling of Trabecular Bone Failure Behavior

               Effect of Boundary Conditions on the Numerical Results in Finite Element Modeling

                        Design of a TMJ Disc for Replacement Surgery Using Rapid Prototyping

2003                 Utilization of the Follower Load Principle for the Simulation of Physiological Loading

                        Load Distribution Analysis Within a Posterior Spinal Fixation System

                        Robots in Medicine: Programming of a robotic arm to simulate body motion

                        Critical Evaluation of a Rapid Prototyping Machine for Creation of Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

                        CAOS: Computer Assisted Orthopaedic Surgery

2004                 Development of Surgical Tools Monitored in a 3D Environment

                        Do Bones Make Sound? Resonance Frequency Analysis of Vertebrae

                        Surface Electromyography of Masticatory Muscles

                        Accounting for Permeability in the Design of Tissue Regenerative Scaffolds

                        Engineering Building Blocks for Tissue Replacement Scaffolds

                        Biomechanical Evaluation of the Load Distribution of the MONARCH Implant

2005                 Effect of Compressive Preload in the Instantaneous Center of Rotation of the Spine

                        Soft Lithography Processes for the Creation of Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

                        The Effect of Material Arrangement of Structural Properties of Micro-Architectures

                        Temporo-Mandibular Joint Disfunction, What is the Cause?

                        Design and Characterization of a Device for Accelerated Scaffold Degradation

2006                 Clinical Importance of the Vertebral Cortical Shell

                        Functional Optimization of a Novel Bone Diagnostic Tool

                        Early Conceptual Evaluation of a Bioprinter

                        Functional Optimization of a Novel Bone Diagnostic Tool

                        Constructing a Fluid-Flow System to Analyze the Degradation Kinetics of Biomaterial Scaffolds

                        Variations in Trabecular Bone Surface Contours for Finite Element Analysis

                        Development of a Spine Analog for Biomechanical Testing

2007                 Investigation of Various Methods to Characterize Error of FEA of Trabecular Bone

                        Optimization of a Patient Forearm Fixation Jib

                        Mechanical Properties of Porous Composite PMMA Bone Cement

                        Effect of Bone Size and Material Properties on their Structural Dynamics Response

                        Increasing the Accuracy of the OsteoSonic Diagnostic Device

                        Biaxial Muscle Mechanics: An Automated System

                        Design and Fabrication of a Soft Tissue Testing Reservoir

                        Modeling the Drug Release of Composite Bone Cement

                        Optimization of a 3D Computer Model as First Step Towards Surgical Planning of Treatment

                        Characterization of a Novel Computer-Human Interface for Data Communication

                        Structure-Function Analysis of the Mice Diaphragm

Patents

1.     Liebschner M.: ’ÄúPre-Fabricated Tissue Engineered Bone Plug’Äù.  (Patent Pub. App. # 20050129726).

2.     Liebschner M., Schuerman, P.: "Composite Injectable and Pre-Fabricated Bone Replacement Material and Method for the Production of Such Bone Replacement Implants". PCT/US2004/00700.

3.     Liebschner M.: "Non-Invasive Bone and Joint Damage Detection Device". (Patent Pub. App. # 20050113691).

4.     Liebschner M., Wettergreen M., Bucklen, B., Wei S.: "Computer Assisted Tissue Engineering". Full patent submitted.

5.     Yuksel E., Liebschner M., Wettergreen M.: "Pre-fabrication of tissue molds for plastic surgery." Full patent submitted.

6.     Liebschner M., Templeton A.: "Reconstruction of 3-D geometry of PMMA boli after vertebroplasty using X-rays". Disclosure Filed.

7.     Liebschner M., Gibson C., Rooney T., Robb R., Metwali Z., Elam W.: "Vibration and Compression Countermeasure Harness and Belt for Bone Loss Due to Microgravity and Osteoporosis". Disclosure Filed.

8.     Chan E., Yang P., Gorgon A., Vu E., Chang C., Liebschner M.: " Osteonexus Active Dynamizer". Full patent application Submitted.

9.     Datta N., Gupta V., Ji L., Barnes J., Higbie L., Liebschner M.: "The SmartCast Fracture Healing Device. " Disclosure Filed.

10.  Liebschner M., Zhong L., Cordray M., Zang M.: "Mechanical Data and Signal Transmission in and through Tissue." Disclosure Filed.