International profile strengthens paediatric orthopaedics at Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark
Professor Harry Kim, specialised in peadiatric orthopaedics, is one of the leading researchers in hip disorders in children. With his appointment as an honorary professor at Department of Clinical Medicine at Aalborg University, he will collaborate closely with researchers at Department of Orthopaedics at Aalborg University Hospital.
- Harry Kim is a world-renowned expert in hip disorders in children with a special interest in Legg-Calvé-Perthes (LCP) disease, a disorder in children where the hip starts to disintegrate. We would like to know more about this disorder, and together we are convinced we can develop better treatment than what is offered today, says Ole Rahbek, professor at Department of Orthopaedics, Aalborg University Hospital.
Professor Harry Kim has his daily work at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (TSRHC) in Dallas, Texas, one of Americas most prestigious hospitals within the field of paediatric orthopaedics. His research has been focused on the causes of the hip disorder LCP and he is the initiator behind an international LCP study group.
- We have been in doubt about how to treat these children and in many cases, treatment has been a hip replacement at an early age, explains Ole Rahbek.
A few years ago, Ole Rahbek visited Texas to see how Harry Kim and his colleagues treated patients with LCP. Since then, the two researchers have stayed in close contact and with the appointment of Harry Kim as an honorary professor, a formal research collaboration is now established. The close connection between the engineering research environment and clinical practice is appealing to the American professor:
- Aalborg University has a strong reputation in engineering science and this has made it very attractive to establish a formal collaboration. The outstanding collaboration between engineering science and the clinical research environment as well as our shared vision in digital health has some exciting possibilities, says Harry Kim.
Engineering science will contribute to better treatment
Department of Orthopaedics has established collaborations with Department of Electronic Systems, Department of Health Science and Technology and Department of Materials and Production at Aalborg University. They all contribute with competencies that are important in the development of new treatment methods, explains Ole Rahbek.
- LCP is a rather rare disorder and in Denmark and we do not have a sufficiently high number of patients for research purposes. Our collaboration with Harry Kim is very important to take our research further. There are far more children with LCP at TSRHC, and Harry Kim also has access to an advanced gait analysis laboratory.
As an honorary professor, Harry Kim will participate in a collaboration on including artificial intelligence in diagnostic imaging and development of prediction algorithms as a decision-making tool. Another focus area is sensor technology, where motion sensors is of great research interest.
- In the future, we hope this collaboration will make it possible for PhD students to go on exchange stays in the US and bring back knowledge as well as new and exciting research projects, Ole Rahbek concludes.
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