Finding fusion: an engineer and neurosurgeon unite to improve spinal surgery
It is the summer of 2023, and Dr. Stephen Smith sits face-to-face with a model skeleton in the Engineering North building on the University of Notre Dame campus.
Smith is a neurosurgeon at Beacon Health System’s Memorial Hospital in downtown South Bend, Indiana, about a mile southwest of the University’s campus. He is talking with Ryan Roeder, a professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, about a spinal fusion surgery Smith had just performed using a brand-new type of implant. Although he is looking at bones, it is clear that where others might see death, Smith sees a system teeming with life.
“Bone is an active organ,” Smith says, “and it undergoes continuous remodeling.”
“Remodeling” is not just an apt metaphor; it’s a technical term for the three-part biological process whereby cells digest old bone and deposit fresh, hardened bone in replacement. Remodeling is a key word for this surgery, because for the surgery to be successful, bone has to fuse with an implant—a lifeless material that Smith must insert into the living system of vertebrae and nerves that make up the cervical spine.
Latest ND NewsWire
- ‘Returnless returns’ boost brands among consumersReturnless returns can increase brand support by fostering goodwill, according to John Costello and Christopher Bechler, assistant professors of marketing at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. Their study, “Just Keep It: When and Why Returnless Product Returns Foster Brand Support,” is forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing Research.
- Father-daughter bonding helps female baboons live longerNew research from the University of Notre Dame found that the strength of early-life father-daughter relationships predicts meaningful differences in the survival of female baboons.
- Notre Dame honors Carmi and Chris Murphy with 2025 Sorin AwardIn recognition of their contributions to the University of Notre Dame and service to the South Bend community, Carmi and Chris Murphy were presented with the 2025 Rev. Edward Frederick Sorin, C.S.C., Award on May 31 at the Alumni Association’s annual reunion celebration.
- Partial peace deals may facilitate comprehensive accords, offering roadmap for policymakers, practitionersPartial peace agreements — deals that address targeted issues on the way to larger comprehensive accords — could provide a blueprint for peacebuilding policymakers and practitioners, according to new University of Notre Dame research.
- Fatal school shootings have lasting impact on local economiesNew research from the University of Notre Dame offers the first large-scale empirical evidence that community anxiety caused by fatal school shootings can impact routine consumption behaviors like grocery shopping and dining out.
- Corporate boards with more women in positions of power lead to safer workplacesNew research from the University of Notre Dame takes a first look at how workplace safety is affected by female board representation, finding there are fewer accidents and injuries on the job when boards have more women.
