Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are developing wireless spinal implants with a $352,213 National Institutes of Health grant, the university said in an Oct. 27 news release.
The implants are a collaboration between engineering professor Amir Alavi, PhD, and spine surgeon professors Nitin Agarwal, MD, and D. Kojo Hamilton, MD.
When he was a PhD student, Dr. Alavi created sensors that produce their own power and sense for structural weaknesses. He thought the same technologies could be applied for spine care.
In 2023, Dr. Alvi and Dr. Agarwal began developing spinal fusion cages that will monitor the healing process. Signals are received through an electrode on the back and sent to the cloud. Data can be interpreted in real time.
Dr. Alavi also leveraged generative AI to personalize implants to each patient’s anatomy.
NIH funding will support in vivo animal testing, and if that works human testing will be next, Dr. Agarwal said in the release.
