Connecting the elements: Ames shares personal tie to biofabrication research

 

“Your child has been injured at practice. You need to come quick.”

Those are words no parent wants to hear when they receive a call from their child’s coach.

Nate Ames, the executive director of Ohio State’s Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence (CDME), received this dreaded call after 14 years of parenting an elite gymnast. The coach called to inform Ames that his youngest daughter, Maci Ames, was injured.

“I didn’t freak out because the coach was calm, and I figured if it were really serious, she would’ve called an ambulance,” Ames said. “When I arrived at the gym, the head coach was waiting at the door. She said she was pretty confident that Maci’s arm was broken, but she wasn’t showing any signs of pain.”

Nate Ames cocked his head in confusion. The coach continued by sharing, “we all heard the bone snap; it was loud.” She informed Ames he should take his daughter to Nationwide Children’s Hospital for immediate evaluation. 

Ames followed the coach’s instruction and took Maci the hospital, where she received an x-ray on her arm. The results, which were expected to take approximately 20 minutes, weren’t relayed for almost two hours. 

“When the doctor walked in, she didn’t beat around the bush,” Ames said. “She jumped right in and said that over three inches of Maci’s humerus was dead. She explained the work that needed to be done to confirm, but she was pretty sure Maci has Osteochondritis Dissecans, and her arm was worse than she’d seen before.”

According to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Osteochondritis Dissecans (OCD) is a condition in which a piece of cartilage and the underlying bone separate. The separation occurs on the inside (deep) surface of the joint. The most commonly affected joint is the knee, but other joints can be affected. 

In Maci’s case, the joint impacted was her elbow.

After the initial diagnosis, the family received second opinions from several specialists. They visited nearly a dozen doctors in two weeks. Eventually, they connected with an OCD specialist who had experience working with gymnasts.

The doctor was able to quickly answer the family’s questions and help calm their fear of the unknown. Within three days of meeting the doctor, Maci was in surgery. 

“When the doctor came out and told us that Maci was doing well, I took the first steady breath in several weeks,” Ames shared. “Although the surgery went well, they had to remove a surprisingly large amount of cartilage from my daughter’s elbow. 

“We were informed she would be able to use her arm again. She could even go back to gymnastics, although that was strongly discouraged.”

Maci’s injury took place approximately two years ago. Through the recovery process, she’s learned as she gets older, her elbow is always going to be a concern. Currently, there isn’t a proven way to repair the lesions, especially when the cartilage completely separates from the bone. 

The Ames family asked doctors if there were treatments that could help Maci later in life to minimize or eliminate the side effects of OCD. 

“They responded that there is ongoing research in this area, and some combination of stem cell and other new technological advancements will probably be ready by the time Maci needs help again,” Ames said. 

That response resonated with Ames. 

 

His team at CDME bridges the gap between Ohio State’s research capabilities and industry needs in design, manufacturing, and technology. Every day, CDME is paving the way for new medical technologies and advancements.

“At any given time, CDME has a dozen or so projects with the College of Engineering, College of Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, and Department of Biomedical Engineering where we’re trying to help doctors develop solutions that make their patients’ lives better.

“CDME is heavily focused on additive manufacturing,” Ames said. “We’re actively involved in scaffolding development for different parts of the body. We’re working with teams across campus to develop 3D printed artificial vertebrae, mandible plates, and elbow replacements. We’ve worked on electroceutical bandages for rapid wound healing. And most recently, we’ve worked on an additively manufactured corneal stroma scaffold for tissue engineering applications.”

For Ames, the work CDME is doing offers not only professional gratification but also personal hope.

Roughly three months after Maci’s injury, Ames received an email asking for CDME’S support of a bid to host the International Conference on Biofabrication at Ohio State. 

To make an informed decision, Ames needed to better educate himself on biofabrication and see if the research area aligned with CDME.

“There was one paper that showed up during my literature research that set me back in my chair,” Ames said. “It instantly made hosting this conference at Ohio State a very personal mission.”

The paper that captured Ames’ attention is titled "Additive manufacturing for in situ repair of osteochondral defects." Dr. Daniel Cohen authored the piece. 

“Ironically, it covered the same kind of work that Dr. Ed Herderick’s team does at CDME,” Ames said. “What instilled a moment of relief for me was that Dr. Cohen and his colleagues demonstrated the technology by conducting an in situ repair of an osteochondral lesion, not too dissimilar to my daughters.”

In October, Ohio State hosted the International Conference on Biofabrication. The conference brought together more than 250 scientists, engineers, and industry experts in biofabrication. 

 

Ames was invited to speak at the conference’s opening convocation. He used the time to tell Maci’s story and reinforce the widespread impact this area of research could have. 

As he addressed the crowd, Ames shared:

As you publish your research and collaborate on future grants, you’re not only raising the bar among your peers, you’re creating that little bit of relief that parents, sisters, brothers, aunts, and uncles need when things get really scary. 

Be proud of the fact that you’re fundamentally changing the medical industry in a way that will make our children’s lives better.

He thanked the crowd at Biofabrication 2019 for their work on behalf of Ohio State, CDME, the Ames family, and countless other parents who are searching for solutions and hope.

After all, he’s one of those parents.

by Ashley Albertson, ERA Communications Specialist, albertson.29@osu.edu