Mechanical testing of spinal implants
Duncan ET Shepherd
School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Birmingham
Spinal pain is a serious problem throughout the world with millions of working days lost. In
recent years a whole range of new spinal implants have been developed to replace the
intervertebral disc and maintain spinal motion. This talk will cover the various designs of
disc replacement implants and discuss the essential pre-clinical mechanical testing required.
About the speaker:
Duncan Shepherd is a Reader in Bio-medical Engineering. Duncan has published over 50
peer-reviewed journal papers and book chapters in the field of Bio-medical Engineering,
mainly on the design and testing of medical devices. He has received major grants from
Arthritis Research (UK), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the
medical device industry. He has been invited to give talks on his research in Canada, India,
Malaysia and the UK.
His main areas of teaching are modules on mechanical engineering design and bio-medical
engineering. He is the Head of Quality Assurance and Enhancement for the School of
Mechanical Engineering