Handbook of Spine Technology

Book excerpt: This handbook is the most authoritative and up-to-date reference on spine technology written for practitioners, researchers, and students in bioengineering and clinical medicine. It is the first resource to provide a road map of both the history of the field and its future by documenting the poor clinical outcomes and failed spinal implants that contributed to problematic patient outcomes, as well as the technologies that are currently leading the way towards positive clinical outcomes. The contributors are leading authorities in the fields of engineering and clinical medicine and represent academia, industry, and international government and regulatory agencies. The chapters are split into five sections, with the first addressing clinical issues such as anatomy, pathology, oncology, trauma, diagnosis, and imaging studies. The second section, on biomechanics, delves into fixation devices, the bone implant interface, total disc replacements, injury mechanics, and more. The last three sections, on technology, are divided into materials, commercialized products, and surgery. All appropriate chapters will be continually updated and available on the publisher’s website, in order to keep this important reference as up-to-date as possible in a fast-moving field.