Research Log

Research Log

Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS):
Differences in Functional Outcomes Between Spinal Fusion (SF) vs. Vertebral Body Tethering (VBT)
Universitaire Ziekenhuizen (University Hospitals) KU Leuven, or UZ Leuven Gasthuisberg

Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS):
Differences in Functional Outcomes Between Spinal Fusion (SF) vs. Vertebral Body Tethering (VBT)
Universitaire Ziekenhuizen (University Hospitals) KU Leuven, or UZ Leuven Gasthuisberg

Week 2

Description

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  • Shadowed my first hybrid SF/VBT

    surgery. "'Bezoeker kern D", or Visitor Core D.



    05/16/24

    Leuven



  • Mural on my bike route to the hospital.

    Painted by Wijnpers School Students, 2012.



    05/17/14

    Leuven



  • Observed the ortho residents' TLIF/SF

    cadaver lab (+ my UZ Leuven badge)


    05/17/14

    Leuven



Week 1

  • Wrote first draft for lab's AIS article for publication (with help) & sent to PI

  • Learned how AI can supplement literature review, writing, & data analysis

  • Met IORT's orthopaedic surgeons & shadowed a hybrid SF/VBT surgery

  • Observed a surgery lecture on TLIFs (transforaminal lumbar interbody fusions) and its associated cadaver lab



Week 1

  • Wrote first draft for lab's AIS article for publication (with help)

  • Learned how AI can supplement literature review & data analysis

  • Met IORT's orthopaedic surgeons & shadowed a hybrid SF/VBT surgery

  • Observed a surgery lecture on TLIFs (transforaminal lumbar interbody fusions) and its associated cadaver lab

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Week 2

Week 2

  • Had Monday off for Pentecost Monday (national Belgian holiday)

  • Went on a walking lunch with the IORT team and explored UZ Leuven's surrounding forest areas

  • Sat in on & participated in many meetings about last week's draft

  • Helped rework methodology & assess functionality of radiograph procedure

  • Had Monday off for Pentecost Monday (national Belgian holiday)

  • Went on a walking lunch with the IORT team and explored UZ Leuven's surrounding forest areas

  • Sat in on & participated in many meetings about last week's draft

  • Helped rework methodology & assess functionality of radiograph procedure


  • IORT Walkers - Walked around the hospital

    and ate lunch with the IORT team.



    05/21/24

    Leuven



  • Sign near the orthopaedic secretariat/

    admin office.



    05/21/24

    Leuven



  • Picture of UZ Leuven's EOS machine. Was

    unable to take picture, so this is from Google.



    05/24/24

    Leuven



  • Shadowed my first thoracic VBT surgery,

    included portal incisions for laparoscopic work.



    05/27/24

    Leuven



  • Me still shadowing, but 20mins later with

    lead x-ray protection.



    05/27/24

    Leuven



  • Belgian tradition: your birthday,

    your turn to bring celebratory cake.



    05/27/24

    Leuven



  • Leuven Station, main stop for bus and

    train transport. Also location of Pellenberg bus.



    05/30/24

    Leuven



  • Arrived at Pellenberg Kliniek & explored

    the Therapie Toren (Therapy Tower).



    05/30/24

    Pellenberg



  • Panoramic view of the Therapie Toren's

    rooftop sports centre for patients.



    05/30/24

    Pellenberg



  • View of the countryside from my

    bus ride back to Leuven.



    05/30/24

    Pellenberg



Week 3

Week 3

  • Shadowed a double VBT surgery, both thoracic & lumbar

  • Was introduced to R & learned its use in statistical analysis

  • Wrote code pipelines in R for AIS pre/post-op ROM analysis

  • Listened to orthopaedic presentations on: chronic pain screening, muscular synergy, and 3D spinal modelling via AI & simulations.

  • Observed marker-based motion capture for Adult Spinal Deformity (ASD) patients at UZ Leuven's Pellenberg Kliniek.

  • Learned how to identify and label spinal structures on radiographic imaging software, for eventual import into Vicon Nexus.


Week 4

  • Learned how to label mocap (motion capture) markers on IORT's custom software, DOPLR.

  • Practiced identification of markers, skeletal landmarks, and potential deformities on control, AIS, and ASD patient biplanar x-rays.

  • Attended Ph.D. student's Principles of Design workshop. Learned how to use Canva for creating professional research presentations & readable graphs/figures for research articles.

  • Did supplemental work while troubleshooting AIS project issues:

    • Helped another Ph.D. student with data processing for her AI-based ASD project. Facilitated MRI segmentation and tracked spinal vertebrae throughout scans.

    • Researched how to maximize mocap marker visibility on x-rays, via various filter options and convolutional neural networks (CNNs)

    • Coded statistics pipelines in R for future analysis of AIS questionnaire results and pre/post-operative angle measurements (testing of normality and significance)

  • Learned how to label mocap (motion capture) markers on IORT's custom software, DOPLR.

  • Practiced identification of markers, skeletal landmarks, and potential deformities on control, AIS, and ASD patient biplanar x-rays.

  • Attended Ph.D. student's Principles of Design workshop. Learned how to use Canva for creating professional research presentations & readable graphs/figures for research articles.

  • Did supplemental work while troubleshooting AIS project issues:

    • Helped another Ph.D. student with data processing for her AI-based ASD project. Facilitated MRI segmentation and tracked spinal vertebrae throughout scans.

    • Researched how to maximize mocap marker visibility on x-rays, via various filter options and convolutional neural networks (CNNs)

    • Coded statistics pipelines in R for future analysis of AIS questionnaire results and pre/post-operative angle measurements (testing of normality and significance)

  • Learned how to label mocap (motion capture) markers on IORT's custom software, DOPLR.

  • Practiced identification of markers, skeletal landmarks, and potential deformities on control, AIS, and ASD patient biplanar x-rays.

  • Attended Ph.D. student's Principles of Design workshop. Learned how to use Canva for creating professional research presentations & readable graphs/figures for research articles.

  • Did supplemental work while troubleshooting AIS project issues:

    • Helped another Ph.D. student with data processing for her AI-based ASD project. Facilitated MRI segmentation and tracked spinal vertebrae throughout scans.

    • Researched how to maximize mocap marker visibility on x-rays, via various filter options and convolutional neural networks (CNNs)

    • Coded statistics pipelines in R for future analysis of AIS questionnaire results and pre/post-operative angle measurements (testing of normality and significance)

  • View of hospital's main entrance and

    color-coded "paths" from the escalator.


    06/04/24

    Leuven



  • IORT Walkers #2 - View of UZ Leuven's

    surrounding greenery.



    06/06/24

    Leuven



  • IORT Walkers #2 - Picture of the

    purple tree canopy.



    06/06/24

    Leuven



  • IORT Walkers #2 - A neighboring field

    of grazing sheep!



    06/06/24

    Leuven



  • On the way to the IORT office,

    in the elevator!



    06/10/24

    Leuven



  • Magnet on the side of an IORT's

    coffee machine.



    06/10/24

    Leuven



  • Another view of the hospital's main lobby.




    06/10/24

    Leuven



  • Lecture hall where I helped proctor

    an Engineering Anatomy exam



    06/11/24

    Leuven



  • Painting & entrance to University Library's

    study center.


    06/12/24

    Leuven



  • Inside the University Library's study center.




    06/01/24

    Antwerp



  • Resident's Day - Event posters and

    surgeons' portraits

    .


    06/14/24

    Oud-Heverlee



  • Resident's Day - The ortho surgeons'

    recreation ofThe Last Supper.



    06/14/24

    Oud-Heverlee



Week 5

  • Continued identifying different mocap markers in ASD and AIS patient biplanar radiographs (both frontal and sagittal views)

  • Assisted in proctoring an Engineering Anatomy exam for KU Leuven Bachelor's students. Done alongside IORT director and Ph.D. students!

  • Worked remotely from the KU Leuven library, while Ph.D. student was at an all-day conference.

  • Attended Resident's Day- an all-day celebration for the ortho department's incoming & graduating resident physicians. Included a morning presentation conference & evening dinner party.

Week 6

  • Switched between working in-office and remotely, continuing mocap marker identificaition in ASD and AIS patients

  • Volunteered to be a mocap participant at the UZ Leuven Pellenberg Kliniek, so my Ph.D. student could practice using the Vicon Nexus collection software & sticking mocap markers, accurately.

  • Started new assignment - investigating ways to measure trunk force generation in ASD patients via hand-held dynamometry. Will write a report, detailing past research, potential protocol, and validation.

  • Pre-taped motion capture markers

    prepared in between patients.



    06/19/24

    Pellenberg



  • View of the Pellenberg clinic's

    surrounding greenery.



    06/19/24

    Pellenberg



  • Gait treadmill used to assess

    movement patterns in AIS patients.



    06/27/24

    Pellenberg



  • Mocap markers for AIS patients:

    reference (left) and vertebral (right).



    06/27/24

    Pellenberg



  • Team dinner at a local frituur near

    the Grote Markt & Oude Markt.



    06/27/24

    Leuven



Week 7

  • Listened to Ph.D. students practice their presentations and receive feedback for next week's conferences.

  • Continued new ASD assignment by outlining main points and reviewing relevant literature.

  • Assisted with 4 AIS motion capture trials at Pellenberg Kliniek

  • Helped and observed control motion capture trial & radiograph imaging via EOS

  • Started working on my End-of-Internship PowerPoint: a presentation requested by the IORT team where I'll describe everything I've learned & name differences between Belgium and Florida.

Week 7

  • Listened to Ph.D. students practice their presentations and receive feedback for next week's conferences.

  • Continued new ASD assignment by outlining main points and reviewing relevant literature.

  • Assisted with 4 AIS motion capture trials at Pellenberg Kliniek

  • Helped and observed control motion capture trial & radiograph imaging via EOS

  • Started working on my End-of-Internship PowerPoint: a presentation requested by the IORT team where I'll describe everything I've learned & name differences between Belgium and Florida.

Week 8

  • Worked half from home & half in office; Ph.D. students & director were all out for a conference in Scotland

  • Continued progress on End-of-Internship presentation

  • Working on proposal writing and

    presentation drafting at a cat cafe.



    07/02/24

    Leuven



  • Vicon Nexus rendering of PI's

    mocap standing trial.



    07/04/24

    Leuven



  • My adorable work buddy at Poescafe.




    07/02/24

    Leuven



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Week 9

  • Presented End-of-Internship to the entire IORT team, including director, Ph.D. students, and clinical trial coordinators.

    • Shortened version is shown here.

  • Gave overview of reasonings for my interest in research, what I have learned during my internship, and comparisons between Belgium and Florida.

  • Continued ASD Trunk Force Generation draft.

  • Finished labeling mocap trials (markers and skeletal structures) in Vicon Nexus and DOPLr. 

  • Assisted with motion capture for an AIS patient at off-site clinic. 

Week 10

  • Assisted with very last motion capture appointment for AIS patients at off-site clinic

  • Finalized and finished my Adult Spinal Deformity draft, which included a full list of references/AMA citations, a proposed protocol for hand-held dynamometry for elderly patients, and a strong rationale. 

  • Viewed my MRI scans for the other spine Ph.D.'s project.

  • Said final goodbyes to the IORT lab!

Week 10

  • Assisted with very last motion capture appointment for AIS patients at off-site clinic

  • Finalized and finished my Adult Spinal Deformity draft, which included a full list of references/AMA citations, a proposed protocol for hand-held dynamometry for elderly patients, and a strong rationale. 

  • Viewed my MRI scans for the other spine Ph.D.'s project.

  • Said final goodbyes to the IORT lab!

  • Last day in the office! Taken near the

    front entrance.



    07/19/24

    Leuven



  • Workspace in Pellenberg clinic,

    when working on ASD draft.



    07/16/24

    Pellenberg



  • Goodbye gifts from the IORT team :)




    07/17/24

    Leuven



  • My MRI scan for the other

    spine Ph.D.'s project optimization!



    07/19/24

    Leuven



  • The outside of UZ Leuven




    07/19/24

    Leuven



  • My computer screen as I

    wrapped up the ASD draft.



    07/19/24

    Leuven