News of Note From Pitt: Engineers Aim to Green the O.R. and Pitt Researcher Recognized For Melding Body and Machine

• Pitt researchers aim for greener hospitals with project to examine the OR 

• Pitt bioengineer harmonizing body and machine recognized by nation’s top biomaterials organization

PITTSBURGH— Behind the larger stories about the University of Pittsburgh are other stories of faculty, staff, and student achievement as well as information on Pitt programs reaching new levels of success. The following is a compilation of some of those stories. 

Pitt Researchers Aim for Greener Hospitals With Project to Examine the OR 

With health care a perennial concern, Pitt researchers will examine yet another facet of the sprawling sector—the environmental impacts of hospitals. 

The researchers will focus on the operating room to establish procedures and policies hospitals can adopt to be more environmentally conscious. The team includes Melissa Bilec and Amy Landis, professors of civil and environmental engineering in Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, as well as Noedahn Copley-Woods and Richard Guido, professors of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive services in Pitt’s School of Medicine. 

Using hysterectomy as a case study for the amount of waste generated during surgeries, the researchers will apply a life-cycle assessment, or LCA, that gauges the environmental effect of the entire procedure, from the raw materials and basic tools needed to the ultimate disposal of the implements and equipment used. Hysterectomies were selected because of the multiple procedures involved—the researchers will be able to conduct comparative LCAs of abdominal, vaginal, laparoscopic, and robot-assisted surgery. 

Once the entire footprint of these procedures is known, the team will be able to assess which areas could be more sustainable. “Greening” the OR will contribute substantially to the researchers’ overall goal of helping hospitals reduce the amount of waste generated. 

The project is supported with a $25,000 grant from Pitt’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute. For more information, contact Pitt News Representative Morgan Kelly at 412-624-4356 (office), 412-897-1400 (cell), mekelly@pitt.edu. 

Pitt Bioengineer Harmonizing Body and Machine Recognized by Nation’s Top Biomaterials Organization 

The country’s foremost scientific organization for biomaterials has honored William Wagner, a professor of surgery, bioengineering, and chemical engineering in Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, for his work developing medical technology that functions in synchronicity with the body. 

The Society for Biomaterials presented Wagner with the 2011 Clemson Award for Applied Research, which recognizes the application of basic science to a significant accomplishment in biomaterials. Wagner, who also is deputy director of Pitt’s McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine (MIRM), is known for his work developing technology to treat and diagnose cardiovascular disease, particularly devices that help patients during heart failure. The award includes a $1,000 prize. 

Wagner is principal investigator for an especially significant biomaterials project, an $18.5 million National Science Foundation-funded collaboration with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT) and the University of Cincinnati. The project focuses on producing biodegradable and self-adapting devices for craniofacial and orthopedic reconstructive surgery; similarly behaving cardiovascular devices such as stents; and miniaturized sensing systems that monitor and control the safety and effectiveness of biodegradable metals inside the body. The metallic devices will be designed to adapt to the body and naturally dissolve, thereby sparing patients with such conditions as bone fractures and coronary heart disease from undergoing multiple surgeries to refit and remove stents and other corrective hardware. 

Wagner’s research group also is working to hone the biocompatibility of PediaFlow^TM, a ventricular-assist device for children developed at Pitt. Made of a titanium alloy and about the size of a AA battery, the device draws blood via a high-speed rotor that essentially floats within its housing as a result of magnetic levitating forces. The project team was awarded a $5.6 million federal grant in 2010 to continue developing the technology. 

Wagner is the second Pitt professor to receive the Clemson Award for Applied Research since it was established in 1973. He joins Stephen Badylak, a professor of surgery in Pitt’s School of Medicine and fellow deputy director of MIRM, who received the 2005 award. 

For more information, contact Pitt News Representative Morgan Kelly at 412-624-4356 (office), 412-897-1400 (cell), mekelly@pitt.edu. 

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