- Kyle Martin is a phD candidate at Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center.
- On June 4, he will defend his dissertation: "Predicting Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Outcome: Machine Learning Analysis of National Knee Ligament Registries".
- Read the dissertation (nva.sikt.no)
- Learn more about the project.
- Watch the defence live on NIHs YouTube-channel.
About the study
When answering these questions, physicians often generalize and make estimates using their experience and knowledge of previous research studies. However, for ACL reconstruction surgery, one size does not fit all and patients may have very different risk profiles with regards to eventual outcome.
This thesis sought to overcome this limitation by using machine learning – a subset of artificial intelligence – to develop risk calculators that can estimate the risk of certain outcomes after ACL reconstruction on a patient-specific level. The primary outcome of interest was the likelihood of a patient requiring a revision surgery (a re-do operation for a failed reconstruction) within 5 years. The Norwegian and Danish national knee ligament registries, which collect data on every ACL reconstruction performed in those respective countries, served as the information source used to train the machine learning algorithms.
Results
This thesis consisted of 6 studies which developed and tested the validity of several prediction models and led to the creation of the first machine-learning-based online calculators which clinicians could use in the office setting to estimate outcomes for their patients. The accuracy of these models was moderate overall – better than random chance but also with room for improvement. Taken together, these studies demonstrate the potential of novel AI-based tools for clinical outcome prediction, while also highlighting the associated challenges and limitations.
Committee
Professor Jorunn Sundgot-Borgen, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (NIH), chairperson
Professor Kristoffer Weisskirchner Barfod, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Assistant Professor Jacobien Oosterhoff, University Medical Centre Groningen, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Groningen, the Netherlands
Supervisors
Main Supervisor: Gilbert Moatshe MD PhD, NIH, UiO, OSTRC
Co-supervisors: Roald Bahr MD PhD, NIH, OSTRC
Lars Engebretsen MD PhD, NIH, OSTRC, UiO
The defense will be chaired by:
Professor Truls Raastad
Program
- 10.15-11.00: Trial lecture
- 13.00-16.00: Dissertation lecture followed by discussion
Practical Information
The defense is open to everyone and will be streamed on NIH's YouTube channel.