A shared interest in sports inspired a University of Waterloo professor and an undergraduate student team to launch a company that designed a novel spinal implant for improved neck mobility and reduced surgical complications.
Pliantech was co-founded by Jonah Leinwand, a biomedical engineering undergraduate in the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Engineering, and Dr. Stewart McLachlin, an assistant professor in mechanical and mechatronics engineering.
"Being big hockey fans, we were both interested in a news story about NHL player Jack Eichel, who was in a battle with his team to get a spinal disc replacement," said Leinwand. "From there, the wheels for Pliantech started turning, and now this has become full-time work for me."
The Pliantech team created a flexible titanium artificial disc using bio-design, compliant mechanisms and 3D printing. The design mimics the neck's natural mobility, overcoming limitations in current artificial discs that can cause post-operative complications. The design took home one of the top prizes at the fall 2023 Velocity Pitch Competition.
"In essence, it's a flexible implant that can move in a controlled way that is similar to the spine, using thin flexures that we designed to not only provide support but also bend and twist," McLachlin said. "We've developed a preliminary device that has been additively manufactured using titanium and tested in my lab, but there's still a lot of work to do in the design process for optimization and testing prior to using in actual patients."
Go to How an NHL player inspired a better spinal implant design for the full story.
Thursday, January 4, 2024