Antony Hodgson - Pushing What’s Possible With Orthopaedic Surgery

“We always try and identify problems where we can have a meaningful impact. Developing better tools or techniques for orthopedic surgeries can make it more likely that patients will have restored or improved function, better mobility, and less pain.” 

Antony Hodgson

Education: BASc (UBC), MASc (UBC), PhD (MIT and Harvard), Postdoctoral Fellowship (Clemson University and Greenville Hospital System) 

What led you to engineering?

When I started my undergraduate degree at UBC I was enrolled in a general first-year science program. I wasn’t really aware of engineering, but I learned about it from some of my friends and realized that I was interested in applying science to solve problems. I’d always liked practical things, like building models or working on my bike or car, and engineering seemed to me a way I could pursue those interests. Mechanical engineering appealed to me because it brings together so many engineering disciplines and it seemed like you could take your career in many different directions. 

It was a bit of everything – from mechanics and control theory to electronics and computer programming. I liked that it was a broad and flexible discipline. 

Mechanical engineering

Why Engineering

 

How did you get interested in biomedical engineering?

I had a student membership in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and, when I was in 3rd year, the monthly ASME magazine had a whole issue devoted to biomedical engineering.

It intrigued me because it showed me how so many of my interests in solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, programming and control theory could be applied to the human body. 

I liked the idea of working in an area where you could have a humanitarian impact and so directly improve people’s quality of life. 

Biomedical engineering

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Tell us about your research.

Through my Surgical Technologies Laboratory based at Vancouver General Hospital, I collaborate with orthopedic and other surgeons to improve diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders by drawing on integrative approaches that include image processing, mechatronics, biomechanics and machine learning. 

On the diagnosis side, one of biggest projects my lab is working on right now is on developmental dysplasia of the hip, which happens in about two to three percent of babies. 

Being properly diagnosed is important, as untreated hip dysplasia can lead to early osteoarthritis and the need for a hip replacement in your 20s. The current method of diagnosis uses two-dimensional imaging that’s not always reliable. We’ve demonstrated that three-dimensional imaging of the joint provides much more accurate measurements, and we’re using AI processing to produce the most reliable measurements possible. 

Other research is trying to make it easier for surgeons to do their work. 

For example, surgeons currently use a type of x-ray machine to get an image of the area they are operating on. Our work is addressing the limitations of these machines so that surgeons have better images and greater control when doing cuts or drilling during operations. These new tools are aimed at minimizing x-ray exposure for the surgical team and patient, reducing surgical time and will hopefully lead to better patient outcomes.

Surgical Technologies Laboratory

 

What does your research process look like?

My research involves a lot of work with surgeons – we observe surgical procedures, ask questions and brainstorm with surgeons about possible solutions. 

We’ll then go through a process to design a potential solution and verify and validate it in the lab. This might include developing a prototype and evaluating it on anatomical models, getting feedback from surgeons and using it on more realistic tissues. 

You then need to work through ethics approvals before doing user studies and meet regulatory requirements before the solution can be rolled out into clinical use. 

Why is this research important?

We always try and identify problems where we can have a meaningful impact. 

Developing better tools or techniques for orthopedic surgeries can make it more likely that patients will have restored or improved function, better mobility and less pain. 

These solutions can also improve operating room efficiency and reduce health-care costs.

 

What skills do engineering students develop?

Students learn tangible technical skills, as well as how to be comfortable with working on unstructured problems where there isn’t one clear answer. 

I also always say that engineering is a team sport. You are very rarely working on your own – what’s much more common is working with people from a wide variety of backgrounds, both in engineering and in entirely different areas such as business or various clinical fields. That means you need to be able to communicate clearly and know how to work as a team – to listen to other people’s perspectives and challenges and adapt accordingly so you can collectively make progress. 

Why should students choose UBC?

UBC has a strong med-tech ecosystem that includes a medical school and top hospitals. Undergrads in Mechanical Engineering benefit from our MECH 2 program, which is a really unique curricular experience. This is a highly integrated program where students take five courses as a cohort over the whole year, learning the theory and practice of mechanical engineering by starting off with a month-long focus on practical skills and moving on from there to work on some great projects. And in later years, we have unique pathways such as our CREATE-U program that lets students get a taste of what it’s like to be a researcher while being part of a cohort of their peers who can support them and share the experience.

 MECH 2 program  CREATE-U

 

Watch Dr. Antony Hodgson speak at UBC Engineering Open House

 

Two UBC mechanical engineering students prepare for the autonomous landing platform competition.

Mechanical Engineering

As a student in UBC’s Mechanical Engineering stream, you’ll begin by mastering the fundamentals, building a knowledge base in solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, dynamics, thermodynamics, vibrations, heat transfer, controls and design. As a student in UBC’s Mechanical Engineering stream, you’ll begin by mastering the fundamentals, building a knowledge base in solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, dynamics, thermodynamics, vibrations, heat transfer, controls and design.

Mechanical Engineering

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