Information for students
The Laboratorio di Tecnologia Medica (LTM) hosts students from different international Universities to do researches for a while according to the following programmes:
- Internship
- 1st Degree Dissertations
- 2nd Degree Dissertations
- PhD
- Specialization Schools
The LTM believes that visiting students are a strategic asset for the Lab activity. Quite a nice percentage of the research activity is done with the help of the undergraduate students. About 65% of students who have done researching dissertation activity in our Lab, later have become co-authors of articles about their works. These articles are in part already published and the rest is in course of publication on international magazines.
Beside this, students remain the main source for Lab researchers recruitment. About 35% of undergraduate or postgraduate students decide to stay longer in the Lab to make further researches with the support of scholarships or research agreements periodically available in our Institute. The majority of the permanent research personal has wrote the dissertation while in the LTM.
Internships
The Lab provides many intership options to be done in different research fields. With an agreement between the University of affiliation and Istituti Ortopedici Rizzoli may be possible to do an intership in our Lab, even keeping into consideration an eventual further dissertation work.
Dissertations LT and LS
The Lab offers a large range of arguments to be investigated for the dissertation, eventually included in an Internship programme.
All the dissertations done in the Lab are experimental type and usually imply bigger efforts. The candidates are involved in research projects already in course and they are asked to develop a specific aspect of the research plan, with the co-operation of supervisors who are researchers with experience. During the dissertation the candidate is trained to the use of sophisticated systems of measurements, calculation, and commercial software engineering of very high quality and with a large diffusion in scientific and industrial fields.
PhD Dissertation
LTM is an ideal environment to prepare the PhD dissertation thanks to the type of research activity which is done at the Lab and to the wonderful relationship among the Academic Units. Istituti Ortopedici Rizzoli, as a research Unit, is not directly responsible for a single PhD course. On the contrary, the research co-operations with the Engineering Department at the University of Bologna as well as with other branches Departments, allow to do eventually even the whole PhD in our Labs. For further information: tecno@tecno.ior.it
Foreign Visitors
We see the presence in the Lab of students and researchers from all over the world as an asset. We appreciate that students coming from different environment bring some 'fresh air' to our Lab, while enjoying the different cultural background of our research centre. Thus, students from foreign institutions interested in our research activities are welcome to spend some time visiting us using external support. We have a number of international collaborations, some are EU funded, some are funded by bilateral agreements, while some are arranged as individual exchange programs. We already hosted visiting students or residents in orthopedics from UK, Venezuela, Colombia, Latvia, Germany, Sweden, France, Swiss, Spain, Poland, USA, Algeria, etc. Due to the high degree of internationality of our Lab, any foreigner would be able to work in our lab as part of a multi-lingual team (English is fluently spoken by 100% of our staff; French, Spanish, German, Polish' are spoken by quite a few persons in our group). If you would like to come in our lab for a while please contact us for additional information.
1) Events and Numbers
Since it has been founded, the LTM of Istituti Ortopedici Rizzoli has been open to undergraduate and postgraduate degree research investigations. The first University dissertation which has been completely done in the Lab has been discussed during the academic year 1990-1991. Since that time the Lab has hosted more than 120 dissertation works, many PhD and a large number of dissertations for specialization in Medicine and Sanitarian Physics. In the last years the Lab has hosted also internships for international bachelors. In the below chart it is shown how the dissertations are spread among the different departments.
Up to now the students have done their research dissertation works in our Lab were from different Italian universities: Bologna (Head quarter e and the center in Romagna), Modena and Reggio Emilia, Genoa, Turin, Rome (Biomedical Campus), Padova, Trieste, Pisa - and foreign: Germany, Sweden, Spain, Venezuela, Algeria, etc.
2) Work Enviroment
The LTM is hosted inside the Research Centre Codivilla-Putti, placed on one of the most beautiful side of Bologna: S. Michele in Bosco Hill. The centre is surrounded by huge green zones and amazing views. The centre is reachable by car or by motorbike (parking areas are available), by bus (shuttle E terminus) and also by bike (If your legs are trained '.).
Facilities
The building has been built recently and has excellent living features. Inside the Institute there is a café and a canteen which offers meal at discounted prices for whom is affiliated to the Institute.
Work atmosphere...
The work team of the LTM consists of almost 40 researchers: 8 senior, about 20 from the not-permanent international staff (' many have been our students before), e 10-15 students of different type. All this contributes to create a young and informal atmosphere.
The personal covers a large range of fields (a part from the Clinic, Biomechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Medical Informatics, Medical Physics, Biology, Statistics). The co-operation among the groups is very strong, so that each researcher is part of a very multi-disciplinary team.
...and human atmosphere!
The social atmosphere of the Lab is characterized by excellent human relationships and all the staff members are very closed to each other and aim to co-operate. For many people the LTM has meant the starting point of friendships which have endured even after the dissertation working time period.
3) Access Way
Who may be interested shall contact the referee from the his/her own University course of study (somebody that will play as referee during the whole period of research in the Lab). Up to now dissertation works which have been done in the LTM have been co-ordinated by the following supervisors or vice-supervisors:
Degree Course |
Affiliation |
Professor |
Mechanical Engineering |
Bologna |
Prof. Luca Cristofolini Prof. Gianni Caligiana Prof. Francesco Cesari Prof. Alessandro Freddi |
Chemical Engineering |
Bologna |
Prof. Maria Chiara Bignozzi |
Electronic Engineering |
Bologna |
Prof. Guido Avanzolini Prof. Angelo Cappello |
Nuclear Engineering |
Bologna |
Prof. Francesco Cesari |
Industrial Chemistry |
Bologna |
Prof. Oddone Ruggeri |
Biomedical Engineering |
Cesena |
Prof. Luca Cristofolini Prof. Angelo Cappello |
Mechanical Engineering |
Forlì |
Prof. Luca Cristofolini Prof. Alessandro Freddi Eng. Giangiacomo Minak |
Management Engineering |
Reggio Emilia |
Prof. Sergio Curioni |
Mechanical Engineering |
Modena |
Prof. Angelo Andrisano |
Mechanical Engineering |
Turin |
Prof. Cristina Bignardi |
Mechanical Engineering |
Pisa |
Prof. Paola Forte Eng. Francesca Di Puccio |
Biomedical Engineering |
Genoa |
Prof. Pietro G. Morasso |
Mechanical Engineering |
Florence |
Prof. Andrea Corvi |
For other courses or University branches not mentioned in the present list, who may be interested should find a supervisor from his/her own course of study and then contact us.
The University of affiliation should provide a time insurance extension covering the whole period of research while in the LTM. Usually this is the standard procedure. For instance at the University of Bologna, the referee addresses a request to the Intership Office which immediately extends the time insurance period.
To allow the Istituti Ortopedici Rizzoli to authorize the attendance, it is necessary that the student deals with the request signed by the supervisor to be delivered at the secretariat of this Lab to the attention of
Dr. Aldo Toni,
Director of LTM
via di Barbiano, 1/10
40136 Bologna
fax +39 051-6366863
together with the relative declaration of insurance.
Due to the fact that we are part of the Hospital Institute, all the visitors (as well as the students) are obliged to do a medical check visit to confirm the good health condition which is guaranteed by Medicine and Prevention Unit of the Ististiti Ortopedici Rizzoli.
In case students are from Istituti Ortopedici Rizzoli-related Universities, the attendance is free of charge. In case of Istituti Ortopedici Rizzoli- not related Universities, if the attendance is longer than 3 months, the student will have to pay a small fee for the submission (to cover the medical check visit )
At the end of the dissertation working period the candidate is supposed to leave a copy of the work at the library of LTM.
Note: the candidate will have to pick up information about the bureaucracy rules of the Secretariat to be admitted at the final exam at the University of affiliation.
4) Dissertation available in the Laboratorio di Tecnologia Medica
The Lab offers a large range of arguments to be investigated, for 1st degree and 2nd degree dissertations (equivalent to BoA and MS respectively in the anglo-saxon educational system). Moreover, it may be possible to draw a profile of postgraduate studies, in line with the Schools of Doctorate co. the University of Bologna and also co. other branches.
Area |
Representative |
Dissertation |
Experimental Biomecanics: Biomaterials |
Dott. Saverio Affatato |
Total hip replacement: experimental investigation of the wear resistance of ceramic versus ceramic interfaces for material optimisation. |
Computational Biomechanics |
Dott. Ing. Fulvia Taddei |
General topics: - Finite element modelling of bone segments from diagnostic data for the analysis of the biomechanical behaviour of bone in physiologic and pathologic conditions, and for the in-vivo prediction of the risk of fracture. (Dissertations in Engineering) - Development of musculoskeletal models for the prediction of forces acting on the skeleton during various motor tasks. (Dissertations in Engineering) - Numerical modelling of mechanical behaviour of bone tissue from microCT data |
Medical Physics |
Dr. Baruffaldi Fabio |
MicroCT characterization of bone tissue and biomaterials |
Regional Register orthopedic prostheses |
Dr.ssa Barbara Bordini |
Survival curves in a population of patients wearing a hip prosthesis: estimation of risk factor relevance by means of multiple regression statistics (Dissertation in Statistical Sciences) |
Biology and micromechanics |
Dr.ssa Susanna Stea |
Bone tissue microhardness |
Biology |
Dr.ssa Susanna Stea |
Methods for particulate extraction from synovial liquids |
The students from University of Bologna, branch of Bologna, Forlì and Cesena, may verify the on line dissertations availability:
- clic here to the dissertations list available at Biomechanical Construction, Nuclear, Aeronautic and Metallurgic Engineering Department (DIEM), University of Bologna
- clic here to the dissertations list available at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, University of Bologna (branch of Cesena)
- clic here to the web site of the University of Bologna - PhD in Bioengineering
5) Job opportunities
To apply for any open position send an application by e-mail (e-mail tecno@tecno.ior.it), with attached your CV in text, doc or pdf format, specifying the coordinator, the profile and the reference of the position you are interested in.
Unit |
Coordinator |
Open positions |
Tribology |
Phys. Saverio Affatato |
Sorry, no positions currently available |
Medical physics |
Phys. Fabio Baruffaldi |
Sorry, no positions currently available |
Biomechanical simulations: functional in-vitro and ex-vivo testing of bone segments and implantable devices |
Eng. Massimiliano Baleani |
Sorry, no positions currently available
|
Biological and clinical research |
Biol. Susanna Stea |
Sorry, no positions currently available |
Computational biomechanics |
Eng. Fulvia Taddei |
Sorry, no positions currently available |