The Radboudumc Academic Medical Network invests in regional collaboration in the areas of prostate cancer, side effects of proton pump inhibitors, vaccines for individuals with compromised immune systems, and treatment of advanced knee osteoarthritis. Joint research projects, involving researchers from Canisius Wilhelmina Hospital, Jeroen Bosch Hospital, Rijnstate Hospital, and Sint Maartenskliniek collaborating with researchers from Radboudumc, receive a total of over 1.1 million euros.
The Radboudumc Academic Medical Network is an initiative to strengthen the ties between Radboudumc and Canisius Wilhelmina Hospital, Jeroen Bosch Hospital, Rijnstate Hospital, and the Sint Maartenskliniek. The hospitals share a regional ambition in research: Innovation and personalized network care.
To achieve this ambition, the hospitals invest in research projects, where researchers from CWZ, JBZ, Rijnstate, and SMK collaborate with researchers from Radboudumc. Following the success of previous years, four Junior Researcher positions have been awarded again.
Researchers from Radboudumc and PhD holders from the collaborating hospitals were invited to submit a project proposal. A review committee consisting of representatives from CWZ, JBZ, Rijnstate, SMK, and Radboudumc evaluated the project proposals based on criteria such as their societal relevance, alignment with the shared strategy, and scientific quality.
During the celebratory event at the Radboudumc Experience Center on April 25th, one Junior Researcher position per collaborating partner was awarded, each amounting to €280,000,- for a period of four years.
Dennis Janssen got the award for the project:
Personalized treatments for optimized survival of revision TKA
Radboudumc: Dennis Janssen
SMK: Petra Heesterbeek
Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a successful intervention for treatment of advanced knee osteoarthritis. Due to the ageing population and increases in risk factors such as obesity, the number of TKA operations is expected to increase significantly over the upcoming decades. TKA currently does not provide a permanent solution for every patient, and particularly younger patients with a longer life expectancy often require one or more revision surgeries during their lifespan. As a result, the number of revision total knee arthroplasties (rTKA) has increased over the past years, with projections predicting a significant increase of up to 90% in the coming decades, which will place an immense burden on the health care system.
Revision surgery is associated with a higher risk of failure compared to the initial surgery, with 33% of the re-revisions TKA caused by aseptic loosening.
SMK is the largest orthopaedic clinic with 400 rTKA procedures performed annually. The Orthopedic Innovations group is an internationally esteemed research group specialized in clinical studies, with a main focus on functional evaluation and survival analysis of primary and revision arthroplasty.
Radboudumc’s Orthopaedic Research Lab (ORL) performs fundamental and applied research on the biomechanical aspects of musculoskeletal disorders, with optimization of survival of joint replacement as a main focus. The ORL has many past and present collaborations with clinical and industrial partners to evaluate joint reconstructions. The ORL features a physical testing facility with access to human cadaveric specimens and has a custom infrastructure for computational modelling to facilitate population-based mechanical modelling.
The current project will provide invaluable input to optimize orthopaedic care for patients requiring knee revision surgery, which will be shared with our regional clinical collaboration partners.
