Massachusetts General Hospital

The Orthopaedic Bioengineering Laboratory was established on April 15, 1998 by Dr. Guoan Li, when he moved to the Massachusetts General Hospital with Drs. James Herndon and Harry Rubash from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. Li has joint faculty appointments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School. He is an advisor to graduate students at MIT and postdoctoral fellows conducting orthopaedic biomechanics research.

Upon establishing the laboratory at MGH, Dr. Li’s focus was on the novel application of robotic technology to the in-vitro motion simulation of the human upper and lower extremity. Using this robotic technology, the laboratory pioneered the investigation of human knee function in high flexion angles and revealed many factors that hinder deep flexion after total knee arthroplasty. Additionally, the laboratory was the first to generate a new conceptual technology for ACL reconstruction – the single tunnel double bundle ACL reconstruction.

In 2003, the laboratory established a dual fluoroscopic image system (known currently as DFIS in the literature) that could accurately determine in-vivo 6DOF musculoskeletal joint kinematics. This technique has since contributed to a series of papers reporting the in-vivo function of the human ankle, knee, elbow, shoulder and spine. Many of these works were the first data ever observed in these musculoskeletal joints. For example, the laboratory was the first to report on the in-vivo cartilage deformation of the ankle and knee under weightbearing conditions. In the recent years, the laboratory has been involved in orthopaedic translational research, such as developing the next generation of total knee arthroplasty and new ACL reconstruction techniques aimed at preventing post-operative joint degeneration.

Faculty:

• Guoan Li, PhD

Research Scientists:

• Hemanth Gadikota, MS

PhD Candidates:

• Daniel Massimini, MS
• Shaobai Wang, MS

Postdoctoral Fellows:

• Ali Hosseini, PhD

Visiting Fellows:

• Amee Seitz, PhD DPT
• Kamal Patel, BS
• Jing-Sheng Li, MS
• Zhonglin Zhu, MS

Previous Members:

• Laboratory Contributors and Friends

Knee Arthroplasty Group

Spine Research Group

Sports Medicine Group

Collaborations

Shoulder Biomotion Lab

Two-year Post-Doctoral position at Bioengineering Lab, MGH/HMS

A two-year Post-Doctoral position is available at the Orthopaedic Bioengineering Lab, MGH/HMS with possible extension to 3rd year. The responsibility of this position includes quantitatively investigation of the in vivo hip biomechanics in patients with total hip arthroplasty, processing of CT images of patients to construct 3D anatomic models of the hip and examining the optimal surgical implantation of hip replacements.

The potential candidate should possess a Ph.D in Biomedical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering with graduate research experience on musculoskeletal joint biomechanics. Background in the hip joint biomechanics is desirable, but not essential. The candidate should have experience in conducting patient kinematics and kinetic evaluation using imaging technique and motion analysis technique and the capability to coordinate between research engineers, students, clinicians as well as patients.

For interested applicants, please submit CV and 3 reference letters to: Guoan Li, Ph.D, gli1@partners.org. No calls will be received.

Publications since 2010 (see Pubmed for complete list)

1. Hosseini A, Gill TJ, Van de Velde SK, Li G: Estimation of In Vivo ACL Force Changes in Response to Increased Weightbearing. J Biomech Eng 133:051004, 2011. View PDF.
2. Gadikota HR, Seon JK, Chen CH, Wu JL, Gill TJ, Li G: In vitro and intraoperative laxities after single-bundle and double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions. Arthroscopy 27:849-60, 2011. View PDF.
3. Sumino T, Gadikota HR, Varadarajan KM, Kwon YM, Rubash HE, Li G: Do high flexion posterior stabilised total knee arthroplasty designs increase knee flexion? A meta analysis. Int Orthop, 2011
4. Li W, Wang S, Xia Q, Passias P, Kozanek M, Wood K, Li G: Lumbar facet joint motion in patients with degenerative disc disease at affected and adjacent levels: an in vivo biomechanical study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 36:E629-37, 2011
5. Wang S, Xia Q, Passias P, Li W, Wood K, Li G: How does lumbar degenerative disc disease affect the disc deformation at the cephalic levels in vivo? Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 36:E574-81, 2011. View PDF.
6. Li WS, Li G, Chen ZQ, Wood KB: Sagittal plane analysis of the spine and pelvis in adult idiopathic scoliosis. Chin Med J (Engl) 123:2978-82, 2010
7. Liu F, Gadikota HR, Kozanek M, Hosseini A, Yue B, Gill TJ, Rubash HE, Li G: In vivo length patterns of the medial collateral ligament during the stance phase of gait. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 19:719-27, 2011
8. Chen CH, Gadikota HR, Gill TJ, Li G: The effect of graft fixation sequence on force distribution in double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 19:712-8, 2011
9. Massimini DF, Warner JJ, Li G: Non-invasive determination of coupled motion of the scapula and humerus--an in-vitro validation. J Biomech 44:408-12, 2011. View PDF.
10. Yue B, Varadarajan KM, Moynihan AL, Liu F, Rubash HE, Li G: Kinematics of medial osteoarthritic knees before and after posterior cruciate ligament retaining total knee arthroplasty. J Orthop Res 29:40-6, 2011
11. Varadarajan KM, Rubash HE, Li G: Are current total knee arthroplasty implants designed to restore normal trochlear groove anatomy? J Arthroplasty 26:274-81, 2011. View PDF.
12. Yue B, Varadarajan KM, Ai S, Tang T, Rubash HE, Li G: Differences of knee anthropometry between Chinese and white men and women. J Arthroplasty 26:124-30, 2011
13. Varadarajan KM, Freiberg AA, Gill TJ, Rubash HE, Li G: Relationship between three-dimensional geometry of the trochlear groove and in vivo patellar tracking during weight-bearing knee flexion. J Biomech Eng 132:061008, 2010
14. Wu JL, Hosseini A, Kozanek M, Gadikota HR, Gill TJt, Li G: Kinematics of the anterior cruciate ligament during gait. Am J Sports Med 38:1475-82, 2010
15. Hosseini A, Van de Velde SK, Kozanek M, Gill TJ, Grodzinsky AJ, Rubash HE, Li G: In-vivo time-dependent articular cartilage contact behavior of the tibiofemoral joint. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 18:909-16, 2010. View PDF.
16. Liu F, Yue B, Gadikota HR, Kozanek M, Liu W, Gill TJ, Rubash HE, Li G: Morphology of the medial collateral ligament of the knee. J Orthop Surg Res 5:69, 2010
17. Gadikota HR, Seon JK, Wu JL, Gill TJ, Li G: The effect of isolated popliteus tendon complex injury on graft force in anterior cruciate ligament reconstructed knees. Int Orthop, 2010
18. Seon JK, Gadikota HR, Wu JL, Sutton K, Gill TJ, Li G: Comparison of single- and double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions in restoration of knee kinematics and anterior cruciate ligament forces. Am J Sports Med 38:1359-67, 2010
19. Xia Q, Wang S, Kozanek M, Passias P, Wood K, Li G: In-vivo motion characteristics of lumbar vertebrae in sagittal and transverse planes. J Biomech 43:1905-9, 2010. View PDF.
20. Van de Velde SK, Hosseini A, Kozanek M, Gill TJ, Rubash HE, Li G: Application guidelines for dynamic knee joint analysis with a dual fluoroscopic imaging system. Acta Orthop Belg 76:107-13, 2010
21. Li G, Lv G, Passias P, Kozanek M, Metkar US, Liu Z, Wood KB, Rehak L, Deng Y: Complications associated with thoracic pedicle screws in spinal deformity. Eur Spine J 19:1576-84, 2010
22. Gadikota HR, Wu JL, Seon JK, Sutton K, Gill TJ, Li G: Single-tunnel double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with anatomical placement of hamstring tendon graft: can it restore normal knee joint kinematics? Am J Sports Med 38:713-20, 2010. View PDF.

Bioengineering Laboratory

Phone: 617-724-3246
Fax: 617-724-4392
Hours: M-F, 9am-5pm

Public Transportation Access: yes
Disabled Access: yes

2nd Phone: 617-726-1346