for orthopedic biomechanics research
Test every major joint.
Loads from 5 N to 3000 N.
Six degrees of freedom.
simVITRO® is a hardware neutral joint testing system born out of the BioRobotics and Mechanical Testing Laboratory of Cleveland Clinic Research.
A universal musculoskeletal simulator for the testing of major joints.
simVITRO® is a hardware neutral joint testing system born out of the BioRobotics and Mechanical Testing Laboratory of Cleveland Clinic Research. The flexible merging of software and hardware components are designed to provide flexibility for end users to test in relevant joint specific modules and have the necessary software tools to support their business and/or research needs. simVITRO systems are supplied, installed and supported in your laboratory.
Force, moment, translation, and rotation control run within one controller, so a protocol can move between load controlled and position controlled phases without leaving the test.
Helping move your research forward.
Streamlined research
- •Less time building and validating bespoke tooling, more time answering the clinical question.
- •Protocols, fixturing, and data pipelines arrive as a working system rather than a laboratory project of their own.
Expansive capabilities
- •Any joint, any load, any range of motion.
- •Capacities from 5 N to 3000 N.
- •One license can run multiple sized robots, so a single laboratory can hold both ends of its research programme.
Modular Solutions
- •Hardware and software configured to the laboratory's exact need, and revised as the research direction moves.
Five systems, separated by load capacity.
Every system carries the same software and control stack, built on a KUKA robot with OptiTrack motion capture.
The simSURROGATE specimen is fitted with springs or similar internals, feeding the robot enough real-world signal to control accurately: a middle step between software-only training and full physical studies.
Mercury 5
5 N capacity
Mars 60
60 N capacity
Neptune 160
160 N capacity
Saturn 1600
1600 N capacity
Jupiter 3000
3000 N capacityA record written by other laboratories.
simVITRO's use is documented in more than ninety independently published biomechanics studies across eight anatomical regions, in journals including The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Journal of Biomechanics, Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, The Spine Journal, and Arthroscopy.
The platform is not certified against an existing ISO standard because the work it supports precedes one: these laboratories are establishing the methods by which future standards will be written. The maintained list is held by the Cleveland Clinic BioRobotics Laboratory.
Specifying a system for a grant application?
Most installations begin twelve to twenty-four months before the equipment arrives, at the point a research programme is being costed. Tell us what you’re testing and we’ll spec the system. simVITRO systems are supplied, installed and supported in your laboratory.
