engineering dealing with animals

Vivian:

Biomedical engineers, mechanical engineers and materials engineers (or materials science and engineering majors) are all types of engineers who could be involved in creating joint replacements for orthopedics. Working in this area provides engineers the opportunity to design replacement joints that can be used in the clinic for both humans and animals. The principles for joint replacements, fracture fixation and other musculoskeletal procedures are similar, while the forces and specific anatomy can differ.

For example, I have been involved with testing hardware (fixation plates) in the laboratory that a veterinarian at our Companion Animal Hospital had designed for improving spine fusion in dogs. We compared the new plate design to the current treatment method using screws. Our goal was to demonstrate that the function for both methods would be similar when loaded because the surgery for the new plate was more straightforward and posed less risk to the spinal nerves.  

The spine consists of a series of bones (vertebrae) separated by soft “spacers” (intervertebral discs) and connected by muscles and ligaments. Some breeds of dogs are particularly prone to back problems due to intervertebral disc degeneration that are treated by eliminating motion of the painful segment by fusing two vertebrae together using screws and/or plates. Similar principles are used in human spine surgery, except that the loads we put on our spines as bipeds are different than quadrupeds.  These approaches also apply to other orthopedic procedures such as joint replacements. We have also worked with veterinarians to improve other musculoskeletal treatments, such as limb lengthening surgeries. The results of these types of experiments can improve treatments for both animals and humans.