( of CT scanners and the real-time moveme...)Bones in motion: Brown scientists to create new 3-D X-ray system

The result will be a powerful tool with applications for basic and applied research:

• testing new theories of biomechanics, such as muscle-tendon interactions;

• studying the evolution of bodies and how they move, such as birds' multijointed wings;

• planning orthopedic surgeries and comparing the effectiveness of different approaches;

• creating better treatments for shoulder, wrist, knee and back injuries;

• driving innovations in computer graphics and scientific visualization.

The project cuts across disciplines and brings together a diverse team of Brown researchers. They include bioengineer Joseph Crisco, computer scientist David Laidlaw, orthopedic experts Braden Fleming and Douglas Moore, and biologists Stephen Gatesy, Thomas Roberts and Sharon Swartz. Brainerd, a professor of medical science in Brown's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, leads the team.

The grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, paired with matching funds from Brown, will pay for the X-ray machines, treadmills and other equipment for a new CTX facility on campus. But creating the imaging technology will be a mainly computational challenge, so funding will also support substantial software development.

Brown faculty and students are already at work on pilot projects to visualize pigs walking, birds flying and frogs jumping, using seed funds from Brown's Office of the Vice President for Research and the National Science Foundation. Software will be rolled out in phases, Brainerd said, with a complete system available by 2010.

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Source:Brown University