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Civil engineering major Crissy MacDonald ’05 (Glendora, N.J.) has completed research using a computer modeling system called ANSYS that may help young patients who require hip implants.
“I worked on making a model of the femur, so that upon further research, I could examine hip implants and their effects on bone growth in the femur,” says MacDonald, who is minoring in bioengineering and competes as a diver on the swimming and diving team. “I focused on a new type of implant, called press-fit implants, which allow the bone to grow because they distribute stresses along the femur. They will last longer than the cemented implants of today.”
While hip implants are most common in older patients whose bone growth is not an issue, occasionally younger patients must undergo the surgery as well. Adjustments must be made to allow for bone growth.
“The typical scenario, cementing implants, involves older patients, so if the implant lasts for 10 or 15 years, that’s generally acceptable,” explains Robert Reid, visiting assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, and MacDonald’s mentor for the research. “With younger patients, doctors use what’s called a press fit instead of cement, which tends to cause the bone to die. Instead of cementing the implant to the pelvic bone, the implant is jammed into the bone, thus stimulating the bone to grow.”
Reid has served as president of his own engineering firm since 1989, maintaining hands-on responsibilities such as software development and design of mechanical, structural, and industrial projects. He also has held software development and structural engineering positions, as well as an engineering job with ANSYS, Inc.
“I am very excited about this project because it is nice to know that it will actually be affecting people,” says MacDonald. “There are so many young people today needing hip replacement surgeries who end up having to go through them more than one time because of the short life of today’s implants. I am hoping that we can make a significant impact on how things are done.”
Press-fitting implants is a relatively new procedure. Computer modeling helps to develop an accurate geometric model of the bones and replacement pieces used in the operation.
MacDonald expressed an interest in the procedure after visiting orthopedic surgeons with her mentor over the summer.
“I am very happy to be working with Professor Reid. We visited Pittsburgh to talk with the doctors that we are doing this research for, and he cared very much not only about getting the work done, but making sure we had a good time and understood what was going on. His knowledge of ANSYS was extremely helpful,” she says.
With an eye toward a career in medicine, MacDonald is confident this project will prompt further interest and knowledge of biomedical engineering.
“This project has given me the ability to indulge my passion for medicine,” she says. “I am hoping to attend medical school shortly after I graduate from Lafayette, and if not, to continue work in the biomedical engineering world.”
She adds, “Biomechanics are similar to regular engineering. I used to think the two fields weren’t similar, but the same stresses are in effect whether it’s on a building or a femur.”
MacDonald cites this project as a good example of the close collaboration between students and professors at Lafayette.
“Lafayette is a great environment for these projects. The faculty have all been involved in so many different things that it’s easy to find someone who can help you with what you are interested in. I never thought I was going to be able to tie together civil engineering and medicine until I met Professor Reid.
“I am very happy with my major here at Lafayette. It is one of the top schools in the nation in engineering. The small class sizes and knowledgeable, caring professors make all the work well worth it in the end.”
In addition to competing on the swimming and diving team, MacDonald is a member of the Panhellenic Council and the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, and serves as public relations chair of the student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Lafayette has gained national recognition for its success in attracting and retaining outstanding women engineering students like MacDonald. Last year, women earned about 31% of the bachelor’s degrees the College awarded in engineering. Nationally women make up approximately 19% of engineering B.S. graduates, according to a 2002 National Science Foundation report.
The American Society for Engineering Education has cited Lafayette among nine engineering schools nationwide that have “excelled in upping the ranks of women in their midst.” In addition, Lafayette received a grant of $151,875 from the National Science Foundation to build on this success and further strengthen recruitment and retention of both women and minority engineering students.
The opportunity to conduct meaningful research with faculty is a major advantage for these students. As a national leader in undergraduate research, Lafayette sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year. Over the past five years, more than 130 Lafayette students have presented results from research conducted with faculty mentors, or under their guidance, at the conference.
Lafayette ranks No. 1 among all U.S. colleges that grant only bachelor’s degrees in the number of graduates who went on to earn doctorates in engineering between 1920-1995, according to the Franklin and Marshall College study “Baccalaureate Origins of Doctoral Recipients.”