Week 5 - Tyler McNeill

Most of my time this week was spent on the computer, working on my literature review of customized total knee arthroplasties. Doing this research has been eye-opening for a multitude of reasons. This work has exposed me to new topics, new types of authors, and new writing styles. Most of my research outside of immersion term is focused on the biomechanics and mechanobiology of bone, which involves the cellular and molecular level aspects of these processes. Being given the opportunity to research some macroscale aspect of this field during immersion has been a nice juxtaposition that I believe has helped to give me a more well-rounded understanding of the realm of biomechanics.

Another thing that I’ve noticed throughout the process of reviewing literature has been the differences in styles of writing based on the authors’ backgrounds. A lot of the studies that I read during my studies are written primarily by researchers who have physical and biological science backgrounds. In comparison, a lot of the papers I’ve studied while learning about total knee replacement surgeries have been (understandably) written by researchers with medical backgrounds. I’ve noticed that in a lot of the works written by medical doctors tie the results of the studies back to clinical perspectives and understanding. In comparison, a lot of the works that I’ve read by researchers with less of a medical background draw connection to future work that could advance the field.

Additionally, I was able to attend one of the Arthroplasty Grand Rounds this week. At this meeting, they discussed total hip arthroplasties­—which I think complemented the work that I’ve done studying total knee arthroplasties quite well. In one case study, they discussed performing a total hip arthroplasty on a patient that had previously undergone hip fusion. During this case study, they discussed some of the long-term mechanical effects that hip fusion has on adjacent joints and how these changes could affect the success of the total hip replacement. Prior to this talk, I had neither heard of a total hip fusion nor considered the mechanical effects of joint immobilization on other parts of the body. Apparently, hip fusion is not extremely common nowadays, though; at one point during this talk, Dr. Bostrom polled the audience, asking how many people had ever seen a hip fusion. Only 3 people out of the room (which was filled with surgeons, residents, and fellows) had ever seen this procedure!

In terms of exploring the city, I’ve been able to see a lot of different places! Though I do miss being in the lab, working on my computer has one particular advantage: being able to work wherever. Through this benefit, I’ve gotten to check out some local coffee shops in the city; my favorite is still Coffee Inn though! I also took the tram to Roosevelt Island with Leigh, Garrett, and Emily one night this week. We explored the Cornell Tech campus and saw some of the different sights on the island. From this perspective, we were able to see the sun set over the city, which was an incredible sight!

Figure 1: An image of the view of the sunset over New York City, taken from Roosevelt Island. (As much as I'd love to take credit for this, Garrett actually took the photo and sent it to us all to post on our social media).