Evalina Burger-Van Der Walt, MD

Novelty Cages Accommodating Individual Endplate Architecture 

This project focuses on reducing subsidence, a complication in spinal fusion surgery where the intervertebral body fusion devices (cages) sink into the endplates of the vertebrae, leading to misalignment and the need for revision surgery. The proposed solution involves developing a patient-specific spinal fusion cage customized to match the stiffness and geometry of the patient's vertebral body endplates, which can be obtained from CT scans. The project aims to create a working prototype of the patient-specific cage, develop automated software to determine endplate characteristics, and secure a patent in order to obtain licensing opportunities with existing spinal cage companies. Collaborators: Ji Ma, PhD, Vikas Patel, MD, Todd Baldini and Andriy Noshchenko 

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