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Canada Research Chair in CAD/CAM Innovation in Orthopedic Engineering

Professor Aubin aims to the design of tools for the biomechanical study of orthopedic treatments, the simulation and design of customized treatments as well as feedback during the course of treatment.

Operate before Operating !

According to popular wisdom, surgeons are not allowed to make mistakes. Carl-Éric Aubin of the École Polytechnique could soon change all that. If he has his way, those who treat spinal cords will be able to make as many virtual mistakes as they want.

For more than a decade, Professor Aubin has been studying three-dimensional spinal cord reconstruction as well as computer-assisted modelling of such reconstruction. At the École Polytechnique, he conducts research in one of the world’s leading centres in the field computer-assisted design of medical treatment. The tools he and his team are developing make possible biomechanical study of orthopedic treatments, simulation and design of customized treatments as well as evaluation and feedback during the course of treatment. The objective of the new Canada Research Chair will be to develop and renew these tools.

With operating techniques now extremely complex, surgeons must absorb, understand and apply a phenomenal amount of information. With these new tools, instead of devising an empirical plan of action and then immediately putting it into effect, surgeons, orthopedic specialists and designers of orthotics are able to try out their plans on a computer, simulate procedures and, while operating or fitting orthotics, receive real-time feedback on the impact of their actions. The value of the treatment is thereby considerably enhanced, and the risks of complications are considerably lowered.

The new research chair should lead to significant, rapidly marketable innovations. Computer-assisted surgical instruments have tremendous economic potential. The economic importance of these high-value-added products is growing steadily. The work of Professor Aubin and his team has already led to the creation of several companies by former students. One of these companies, Orthosoft, develops surgical guidance systems and employs more than fifty highly qualified workers, a number of whom whom studied with Aubin’s research team. Although Professor Aubin intended that his research should first and foremost improve people’s quality of life, after ten years it has also become a crucial factor in the development of an economic sector of strategic importance to Canada.

Carl-Éric Aubin, Full professor
Mechanical Engineering
(514) 340-4711 ext 4437
carl-eric.aubin@polymtl.ca