John Brunski
Professor
Department Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Education:
B.S., University of Penssylvania
M.S., Stanford University
Ph.D., University of Penssylvania
Professional Background
John Brunski joined the faculty of Biomedical Engineering at Rensselaer in 1977 and became a full professor in 1994. He has been active in committee work for a number of national and international societies, such as the Academy of Osseointegration, the Orthopaedic Research Society, the Society for Biomaterials, and the International Association for Dental Research. In 1991-92 he was President of the Implantology Research Group of the International Association for Dental research (IADR). He continues to be a consultant to the Dental Devices Panel of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which oversees the safety and efficacy of dental implants and devices. Professor Brunski has also professionally consulted for a number of US and International corporations, as well as a number of legal firms. He is Section Editor for Biomaterials and Biomechanics, International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants and Assistant Editor, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research. He is also a member of the editorial boards of Journal of Applied Biomaterials and Clinical Oral Implant Research.
Research Interests:
Each year patients receive about 250,000 hip and knee implants and about 150,000 oral and maxillofacial implants. Such implants carry large loads during in vivo function. Consequently, the bone-implant interface is routinely subjected to large stresses and strains. It follows that one key design goal with load-bearing implants is to avoid damage to interfacial bone. While bone has a certain amount of reparative capacity, this capacity cannot be overwhelmed.
One of the problems is that clear danger limits for the bone-implant interface are as yet undefined. The actual mechanical properties of bone as it exists at healed-in or immediately-loaded interfaces are largely unknown. Moreover, the biological mechanisms of interfacial failure remain unclear. This lack of information translates into a largely empirical approach to commercial implant design and clinical case planning.
What is needed is an accurate database about the properties of the bone-implant interface and reliable models for predicting implant loading and stress-strain conditions at interfaces. Such data would help clinicians do better case planning, by, for example, making it possible to estimate before surgery how many implants should be used -- and where they should be placed in the mouth -- to support a bridge over the long term in a given patient having specific biting characteristics and jawbone quality.
Specific interests include:
Contact Information:
John Brunksi
Jonsson Engineering Center – Room 7040
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
110 8th Street
Troy, N.Y. 12180 USA
Phone: (518) 276-6963
Fax: (518) 276-3035
brunsj at rpi dot edu
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