ISE Seminar: Bill Marras

Details

100 Williamson Hall or Zoom:
https://ufl.zoom.us/j/98155004142?pwd=2KyFaTolVBWl4OTM4AmI8Jv1vVfPzH.1

The Role of Wearable Spine Motion Sensors in the Assessment and Prevention of Low Back Disorders

Low Back Disorders (LBDs) remain the most disabling condition known to mankind. They can negatively impact work and can lead to long term (chronic) suffering for a large portion of the population. While most major health problems can be assessed and controlled using quantitative exposures and biomarkers (e.g. heart disease, diabetes), there are few meaningful quantitative metrics available to assess and control LBDs. Previous work suggests that spine motion can provide valuable insights into realistic spine tissue loading. Our work has leveraged this concept and developed wearable spine motion-based biomarkers (spine motion signatures) that can be used to assess the degree of impairment as well as phenotype LBDs. We have developed a database of patient spine motion over the past 5 years. This information can be used to quantitatively track LBD changes over time and inform treatment outcomes. In addition, we have used similar spine motion approaches to help predict and control LBD risk given the workplace requirements.

William S. Marras, Ph.D., CPE
William S. Marras is the Distinguished University Professor and holds the Honda Endowed Chair in Integrated Systems Engineering at the Ohio State University. He serves as the Director of the Spine Research Institute at the Ohio State University where he leads NIH, NSF, DoD, Ohio BWC and privately funded research efforts. Dr. Marras also holds joint academic appointments in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, the Department of Neurosurgery, and the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.
His research is focused on understanding multidimensional causal pathways for spine disorders through quantitative epidemiologic evaluations, laboratory biomechanical studies, personalized mathematical modeling, and clinical studies of the lumbar and cervical spines. His findings have been published in over 300 peer-reviewed journal articles, hundreds of refereed proceedings, and numerous books and book chapters including a book entitled The Working Back: A Systems View. Professor Marras has been active in the National Research Council (NRC) having served on over a dozen boards and committees and has served as Chair of the Board on Human Systems Integration for multiple terms. He has also served as Editor-in-Chief of Human Factors is currently Deputy Editor of Spine and has served as the President of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Dr. Marras holds Fellow status in six professional societies and is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering (the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine), recorded a TEDx talk entitled “Back Pain and your Brain” and has been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered.