Session: 20-17-01: Rising Stars of Mechanical Engineering

Paper Number: 172963

Career: Advancing in Vivo Knowledge and Assessment of Cartilage Material Properties With Quantitative Mri 

Overview

The PI’s long-term goals are threefold: improve human health through scientific investigations of tissue structure-function, develop/test novel medical interventions to reduce the burden of musculoskeletal diseases, and motivate/train students for successful careers in STEM fields. The overall objective in the proposed study is to establish a link between cartilage microstructure, as measured by quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI), and the function of articular cartilage under applied load. Cartilage health is integral to human health, as the hallmark structural trait of osteoarthritis (OA) is cartilage loss. OA is a debilitating disease that affects 30 million adults in the US. No treatments exist to reverse arthritic changes once a person begins to suffer cartilage loss. Recent advances in medical imaging provide an exciting opportunity to identify changes in cartilage’s microstructure before macroscopic loss, but whether or not altered microstructure relates to cartilage tissue function remains an open debate. Filling this knowledge gap will have a significant impact on our scientific understanding of cartilage tissue and, in the future, on patients who are at high risk for developing OA.

The first research objective (RO1) of this proposal will relate microstructure to cartilage function in vivo for participants who have healthy knees. Participants will span a wide range of ages (20-59 years) to ensure a wide range of microstructural measurements. Cartilage function will be measured as a change in qMRI value while a MR-compatible device applies a load to the bottom of participants’ foot during the MR scan. The second research object (RO2) will develop and benchmark a novel computational modeling framework that updates finite element modeling material parameters based on qMRI measurements. RO2 will incorporate in situ experiments using higher loads than those that can be prescribed in vivo during imaging. Research results will integrate directly with two education objectives. For the first education objective (EO1), the PI will mentor student-led engineering teams to design a novel prototype for loading the knee joint in a clinical setting, using the results from RO1 as design constraints. The second education objective (EO2) aims to positively impact students’ perception of STEM disciplines and their likelihood of pursuing a career in STEM through 4-H Discover Engineering workshops, a new BME Summer Camp at the PI’s university, and laboratory training and mentorships. 

Intellectual Merit

Our understanding of the relationship between microstructure, loading, and deformation in articular cartilage is in its infancy. On its own, recent advances in qMRI-based measurements of microstructure in articular cartilage demonstrate a shift from healthy values towards diseased status before significant macroscopic changes occur in groups of patients at high risk of developing OA. These noninvasive imaging advances represent a massive opportunity to identify people at risk for developing OA, but changes in structure represent only one part of the structure-function relationship in articular cartilage. All individuals who have increased qMRI metrics in articular cartilage may or may not go on to develop OA. As outlined in the two research objectives, in vivo investigations into articular cartilage’s function, in conjunction with in situ experiments and in silico simulations, will significantly advance the field of cartilage biomechanics by quantifying microstructure and function over a range of ages in humans. 

Broader Impacts

This CAREER proposal will have broad societal impact by generating a new fundamental structure-function knowledge in articular cartilage. While this proposal investigates the knee, research results concerning the relationship between microstructure, bone shape, and function (RO1) will extend to other diarthrodial load-bearing joints throughout the body that also frequently suffer from OA. Research results will have broad applicability to novel therapeutics as well, where new treatments (e.g., injectables) can test efficacy of changes to microstructure/function before long-term disease data are gathered. The benchmarked FE material update procedure from RO2 has the potential to transform subject-specific modeling in articular cartilage, which has broad appeal throughout the biomechanics and computational modeling communities. The education and outreach activities will have broad impacts at the local, state, and national levels. Specifically, the 4-H Discover Engineering workshops and BME Summer Camps on UVM’s campus will directly reach teens in the local community and throughout the rural state of Vermont. By posting the curriculum on 4-H’s web site, the curricula developed in workshops and summer camp will reach teens nationally. At the university level, students working in the PI’s research laboratory will receive training and mentorship aimed at enhancing their career potential and desire to pursue a STEM career.

Presenting Author: Niccolo Fiorentino University of Vermont

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Fiorentino is the Principal Investigator of the Musculoskeletal Imaging and Orthopaedic Biomechanics (MIOB) Laboratory at the University of Vermont (UVM). He has a primary appointment in Mechanical Engineering with secondary appointments in Electrical & Biomedical Engineering and Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation. He was recently awarded the inaugural Karl and Mary Fessenden Professorship in Biomechanical Engineering. His laboratory’s research capitalizes on state-of-the-art in vivo imaging technologies to uncover the mechanisms of musculoskeletal disease onset and progression, with an emphasis on studying the connection between orthopedic injuries and diseases, such as with post-traumatic osteoarthritis after ACL reconstruction. The topic of this presentation is Dr. Fiorentino's recent NSF CAREER award for a project on in vivo, in situ, and in silico investigations of articular cartilage’s biphasic material properties in knees of young and middle-aged adults. Prior to joining UVM, Dr. Fiorentino received an NIH F32 Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award for postdoctoral work at the University of Utah, as well as an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship as a graduate student at the University of Virginia. He graduated summa cum laude with his B.S. in Engineering Science from the University of Florida.

Authors:

Niccolo Fiorentino University of Vermont