Infosys team discovers solution to study bones

BANGALORE: It's a meeting of dissimilar subjects: principles of mechanical engineering are being used to understanding bone density and fracture risk.

A team of engineers from Infosys Technologies, Bangalore, has developed a solution using computer-assisted design and finite element analysis (FEA) tools to study mechanics of vertebrae, taking into account various factors such as shape, density distribution of cortical and cancellous bone.

The team comprising Dattatraya Parle, principal consultant, and Anirudha Ambulgekar, engineering analyst, from Infosys Engineering Services unit, in collaboration with medical experts, used MSC multi-disciplinary simulation solutions to enable doctors to study bones in a detailed and non-invasive manner. This, the team said, will help diagnose osteoporosis and accurately quantify fracture risk.

Last week, for the second time in a row, the team walked away as the winner of the prestigious 2014 Simulating Reality contest for their 'Osteoporosis solution'. In 2013, an Infosys team had won the Simulating Reality contest for its 3D model of the human heart, that helps medical professionals and scientists improve their understanding of the complexities of human heart disorders.

Currently, doctors estimate bone fracture risk using various methods such as physical examination of CT scans or X-rays and other physiological parameters such as gender, age and weight. "All these diagnostic methods are qualitative and may not take into account geometric and mechanical factors of vertebrae such as shape, cortical bone thickness, density distribution of cortical/cancellous bone, material properties of bone tissue etc. Our invention presents a solution for osteoporosis vertebra to quantitatively assess the fracture risk of vertebrae. Osteoporosis is a bone disease that is characterized by a decrease in bone density that reduces bone strength and increases risk of bone fracture. This solution brings together some of the best practices adopted in mechanical engineering industry to bio-medical industry," said Dr Ravi Kumar GVV, industry principal and head, Advanced Engineering Group, Infosys.

Though computational techniques have already been used in biomedical engineering, the current challenge involves the application of advanced biomedical simulations to clinical medicine and to the study of biological systems at different levels such as cell, tissue and organ. By 2015, around 15% of Indians may be osteoporotic due to increasing longevity of the Indian population. "This is what motivated the Infosys team to develop the current innovative solution for osteoporosis," he said.

The Infosys team worked on the solution for about three months, in collaboration with a radiologist. Initially, state-of-the-art practices and methodologies in osteoporosis were studied. CT scan images of osteoporotic patient vertebrae were used to generate a patient-specific 3D model containing the exact shape and size of their porosity. The 3D model was calibrated to actual dimensions prior to analysis for fracture risk.

A typical case of a person sitting erect where 1000 N compressive force in the lumbar spine is used for stress analysis. The computed compressive vertebra stresses are used to assess patient-specific fracture risk factor.

BEST TREATMENT POSSIBLE

With this new solution from Infosys, doctors can precisely determine the pathophysiology of the pain due to osteoporosis in individual cases. This will help us select the appropriate treatment option for each patient.

Dr Ketan Gaikwad | radiologist, Mumbai

Our engineering capabilities for the life sciences industry focus not only on innovation but also on improving existing medical procedures and processes. This breakthrough in reimagining osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment provides medical practitioners with a new, comprehensive and non-invasive way to examine individual bones and skeletal structure, and determine the best course of action.

Sudip Singh | vice-president and global head, engineering services, Infosys

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