Here are four grants awarded for spine research in the past month.
Dr. Conor Buckley, director of biomedical engineering at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, received a $2.2 million European Research Grant to study spinal regeneration. Dr. Buckley aims to use engineering principles to better understand cell-based therapy, which could enable patients to delay undergoing an invasive spinal fusion procedure.
Researchers at the University of Victoria in Canada received a $1 million grant to boost production of 3D-printed prostheses. Nick Dechev, a mechanical engineering professor and executive director of the program, aims to fit 160 children with scoliosis braces over the next three years.
Providence, R.I.-based Brown University partnered with Intel to investigate the use of artificial intelligence to restore signals above and below spinal cord injuries. The research was made possible by a $6.3 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Xoran Technologies plans to research surgical navigation and intraoperative imaging to decrease time and enhance outcomes in minimally invasive spine procedures. A National Institutes of Health initiative will provide $4 million in research and development funds to Xoran and Decathlon Capital Partners will provide another $4 million through the Small Business Innovation Research grant.