We are thrilled to share that Drs. David Wilson and Parth Lodhia have been awarded a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant to explore an innovative biomechanical approach to examine the biomechanics of hip microinstability and its profound effects on patient symptoms and cartilage health.
The CIHR Project Grant Program supports health-related research projects that have the potential to significantly advance knowledge, healthcare, health systems, and health outcomes in Canada.
The project, titled Biomechanical and imaging assessments of hip microinstability, will use North America’s only research-dedicated upright open MRI (UO-MRI) scanner at UBC to measure hip stability and gain a greater understanding of hip microinstability.
“Hip microinstability is a controversial topic with skeptics and believers alike. This research will help shed light on both those camps to help resolve academic uncertainty and hopefully provide an objective understanding of this concept and its downstream effects on hip health in patients.”
—Dr. Parth Lodhia, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopaedics
Drs. Wilson and Lodhia are also collaborating with Dr. Jackie Whittaker—an associate professor in the department of physical therapy—who will provide a physiotherapy perspective on study design and interpretation of findings and Dr. Alex Rauscher—an associate professor in the department of pediatrics—to provide important MRI expertise for designing pulse sequences, addressing any imaging challenges, and interpretation of MRI findings.
“Harnessing biomechanics and imaging to make a direct and immediate impact on clinical care is both powerful and promising.”
—Dr. David Wilson, Professor and Associate Head, Research, Department of Orthopaedics
Next steps for the project will include validating methods of hip instability imaging and beginning full-scale recruitment.
Learn more
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) announcement: Biomechanical and imaging assessments of hip microinstability
- UBC Faculty of Medicine: UBC Medicine researchers awarded more than $40 million from CIHR to lead transformative health research
