Despite the long history of this disorder, there are still many problems regarding its treatment and prevention. The main problem is that it’s only possible to influence the development of the disease without surgical intervention until the age of 17-19. That’s when the musculoskeletal system is formed. To prescribe the right treatment, it is important to monitor the disease progression. That’s what monitoring devices are for.
The reason of scoliosis is still unknown and determining the right treatment can be challenging. The process of treatment requires many procedures such as X-ray examinations and MRI, but it’s also important to correctly interpret the results, noted Yury Baloshin, a research associate at the Department of Nano-Photonics and Metamaterials. He is conducting the research in collaboration with Igor Popov, head of the Department of Advanced Mathematics, a group of Master’s students and specialists from the Ogonek center.
“One of the main disadvantages of the existing physical and mathematical models of scoliosis is that they don’t see scoliosis as a dynamic process”, commented Yury Baloshin.
The model is still in progress, noted Mr. Baloshin. The thing is, it has to take into account not only the size of the spinal bones but also many other data. According to Yury Baloshin, the concept of neural networks can be used when developing this new model.
The model can be used to find out the patterns of scoliosis progression in different age groups. However, in the future, it can be used individually for each patient. This will help doctors to better determine the type of the patient's disease and accordingly select the best treatment. Besides, the model can help diagnose scoliosis in the early stages. In other words, it will work as a decision support system for medical personnel.
"Medicine is more of an empirical science that works with facts. When we first started working with doctors, it was very difficult to find a common language with them, as they don’t use approaches based on modeling when choosing the treatment for their patients. The main purpose of our research is to make the treatment more effective with the use of new technologies. We’re currently improving our model and publishing scientific articles, which will help us to further develop our project”, shares Yury Baloshin.
Apart from that, the team is also working on a new diagnostics system, based on skin sensing with a high-frequency electromagnetic field. Experiments have shown that this procedure can be used to detect the so called “growth zones” responsible for the disease. The advantage of this method is its relative simplicity, efficiency and safety.
“We’re collaborating with ITMO’s Department of Advanced Mathematics; Bachelor’s and Master’s students write their theses on this topic. There are many tasks that need knowledge in the field of applied mathematics”, said Mr. Baloshin.
He added that students can also collaborate with doctors from the Ogonek center. Apart from that, the developers of the project communicate with researchers from Charles University in Prague, where a group of scientists works on the same tasks. They also share experience and information with colleagues from France, Canada, and Australia. For example, researchers from ITMO University prepared a series of publications on the new model and its characteristics, and now they plan to present the results of their research at the “Prague-Lublin-Sydney-St. Petersburg” international symposium which will be held in Prague in September 2018.
