Research Stay Abroad at the AO Research Institute Davos by SFB 1313 Doctoral Researcher Jan-Sören Lennart Völter

Jan-Sören Lennart Völter from the Institute for Modelling and Simulation of Biomechanical Systems (IMSB) of the University of Stuttgart is a doctoral researcher (research project C03) and member of the SFB 1313 Integrated Research Training Group "Interface-Driven Multi-Field Processes in Porous Media". He visited the AO Research Institute Davos (ARI) in April 2025.

Research Report

The AO Research Institute Davos (ARI) has been collaborating with us since the start of the project C03. They continue to provide us with support during experiments regarding design, setup and clinical expertise. They help us bridge the gap between the computational realm of simulations and the real world, which are applications in the medical field. The main purpose of my research stay in Davos was the conduction of experiments which replicate bone cement injections occurring during one such application: vertebroplasty. In particular, we injected bone cement into liquid saturated polyurethane foams while mimicking clinically relevant conditions such as the human body temperature of the foams. The various research facilities contained within the ARI enabled the conduction of many experiments alongside our injection experiments.

We had already formed various hypotheses regarding the interactions of bone cement and biological tissues during vertebroplasty based on our own previously conducted experiments and literature. Our investigations at the ARI were rather fruitful. They validated our hypotheses. In particular, our injection experiments demonstrated that bone cement injection in the context of vertebroplasty is dominated by viscous forces, as opposed to capillary forces. Furthermore, our injection experiments demonstrated the important influence of temperature variations of the injected bone cement during and also after the injection thereof. Our observations enable us to simplify our computational model without loss of accuracy. This will enable efficient, clinically relevant simulations in the near future.

It was a privilege to be visiting Davos. During the stay, the ski season had passed already and snow had melted. The area was breath-taking regardless, mesmerising at times. The primary focus of my visit was research, of course. The working atmosphere at the ARI is positive, upbeat and serious. This was very conducive to the productivity of my research stay. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to stay and work there. I am especially thankful toward Dominic Gehweiler, Jan Caspar and Boyko Gueorguiev-Rüegg for their hospitality and invaluable continued support along each step of the way.