Roger Härtl, MD, professor of neurological surgery and his spine team in collaboration with Larry Bonassar, PhD, and his biomedical engineering team, of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York have been named the 2014 winners of the Ronald Apfelbaum Research Award, presented by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves.
Here are five things to know about the award:
1. Dr. Härtl, Dr. Bonassar and their teams won the award for their work on the creation of a novel collagen gel to repair herniated discs. The award carries $15,000 in funding for spine research and is sponsored by medical equipment developer Aesculap.
"There is a certain potential of addressing chronic degeneration at an early stage and preventing additional degeneration down the line," said Dr. Hӓrtl in a Becker's Spine Review article. "Tissue engineering and biologics have a big future."
2. The Ronald Apfelbaum Research Award, for either basic or clinical research, is intended to establish funding for research related to the spine, and to provide a means of peer-review for clinical research projects. The collagen gel composite can be used to seal defects in the intervertebral disc during herniated disc operations. The collagen gels have been tested in rate models and were shown capable of repairing the intervertebral discs.
"We remove the herniation and leave the defect untreated," says Dr. Hӓrtl. "That can lead to more disc herniations later on or it can lead to chronic back or neck pain. We have found and published in the peer review journals that tissue engineering technology to repair or heal the annular defect in animals is very effective. With tissue engineering we can prevent subsequent degeneration of the discectomy and health and regenerate the damaged discs."
3. Dr. Härtl has several other research projects right now, including three-dimensional navigation for minimally invasive spinal procedures. He is looking forways to make the technology more user-friendly, accurate and safer. The three-dimensional navigation can help facilitate complicated surgery, like a GPS for surgeons as well as help avoid wrong site surgery. "I really think navigation and computer guidance will become more popular in the future," says Dr. Hӓrtl. "We are not utilizing enough technology to avoid complications, and that's huge for hospitals right now."
4. Dr. Härtl is also actively involved in humanitarian efforts, and he is the leader of Weill Cornell's Global Health Neurosurgery initiative in Tanzania. He earned his medical degree at the Ludwig-Maximillians University in Munich, Germany and completed his residency in neurosurgery at the Weill Cornell Medical Center. He has also completed a complex spine surgery fellowship at the Barrow's Neurological Institute in Phoenix.
5. Research in spinal biologics is an exciting field today, with a number of spine surgeons focusing on this particular area. Biologics are also a popular area of research and development today, with several companies investigating biological solutions for less-invasive and motion-sparing alternatives to spinal fusion. According to a January 2014 Millennium Research Group report, the global market for spinal nonfusion will nearly triple in size through 2022, surpassing $1.6 billion. The market will be driven by emerging geographies such as the Asia Pacific, Brazil, India and China.
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