Brown hosts regional bioengineering ...( PROVIDENCE R.I. [Brown University] ...)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] Leading academics and practitioners from the northeast United States will discuss the latest advances in bioengineering research and nanotechnology such as the printing of human organs from ink jets and a new, injectable method for relieving lower back pain at a conference hosted by Brown University April 4-6, 2008.

It is the first time that Brown has hosted the annual Northeast Bioengineering Conference, which will take place at various sites on campus. The program schedule, speakers and other information can be found at http://www.nebec.org/index.htm

Conference organizer Thomas Webster, associate professor of engineering and the orthopaedics at Brown, said the conference is about the science.

What are the challenges that face us in 2008 in bioengineering? What are the yet unexplored promises in bioengineering? A number of exceptional researchers from around the world will provide many insights into the future of bioengineering, Webster said.

Among the highlights at the conference are:

• A presentation by Gavin Braithwaite, a vice president of research at the Cambridge Polymer Group in Boston, on a new method for relieving lower back pain.

  Back pain is the second most common neurological ailment in the United States only headache is more common, according to the National Institutes of Health. The NIH also reports that back pain is the most common cause of job-related disability and a leading contributor to missed work, causing Americans to spend at least $50 billion each year on treatment.

  Braithwaites research involves injecting a liquid into the nucleus polposus, the gelatinous inner section of the spinal disc responsible for bearing weight and determining the spines motion. The injected liquid transforms into a solid in minutes without chemical reaction, creating a synthetic cushion that has the
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