Predicting Osteoporotic Spine Fracture Risk: Hayes+Associates CEO 1985 publication ranked number 23 of 100 most influential publications on spinal fractures since 1953

Hayes+Associates CEO Wilson C. “Toby” Hayes, Ph.D. was recognized in the March 2019 Journal of Spine Surgery as a co-author of one of the 100 most influential spine fracture publications in over half a century of spine fracture research. Hayes led the research team and co-authored the paper Prediction of Vertebral Body Compressive Fracture Using Quantitative Computed-Tomography  when he was Director of the Orthopedic Biomechanics Laboratory at Harvard’s Beth Israel Hospital. The research helped set the stage for using radiographic imaging to assess risk and prevent fractures of the osteoporotic spine.

 In the paper, the authors showed that there were strong correlations between a widely used clinical method for imaging the spine (CT) and both the density and strength of the bone in human cadaveric vertebrae. The results set the stage for later studies that demonstrated similar strong associations between other radiographic imaging methods and fractures seen clinically in living patients. Diagnostic methods based on this early work and subsequent research by others are now used routinely in the prediction, diagnosis and treatment of spinal fractures, including those resulting from osteoporosis.  

 The lead author, Robert J. McBroom, MD, was at the time a research fellow in the Beth Israel laboratory. He is now a practicing orthopedic surgeon in Mississauga, ON, Canada. Additional co-authors were W. T. Edwards, R. P. Goldberg and Augustus A. White III, MD (then the Chairman of Orthopedics at Beth Israel and currently the Ellen and Melvin Gordon Distinguished Professor of Medical Education at Harvard Medical School).

 The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Maurice E. Mueller Endowed Professorship of Orthopedic Biomechanics at Harvard Medical School (Dr. Hayes) and by the Angus Foundation, Wellesley Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Dr. McBroom).

 Hayes+Associates, Inc. (http://www.hayesassoc.com) is an expert witness and consulting firm, based in Corvallis, OR.  The company brings more than 75 years of collective experience in academic research, university teaching and forensic testimony to practice areas that include vehicle collisions, premises safety, slips and falls, products liability, worker safety, sports and recreation, patent litigation and criminal matters.

RUN J RUN! Former H+A Consultant Runs Boston Marathon for 5th Time

Jeremy J. Bauer, Ph.D., high-fives spectators in the “Scream Tunnel” near Wellesley College between miles 12-13 of the 2019 Boston Marathon.

Dr. Jeremy J. Bauer, former Associate at the Corvallis consulting firm, Hayes+Associates, Inc. has within the last 20 months, not only started his own consulting company, Bauer Forensics, LLC, and moved to Seattle, but has earlier this week run the Boston Marathon for the 5th time, setting a personal best time for the 26.2 mile course of 2 hours and 48 minutes, among the top 4% of finishers.

Dr. Bauer ran his first Boston Marathon in 2013, the year of the bombings along the finishing stretch.  “My experience in 2013 bonded me forever to Boston and the towns all along the route. This year, as always, the crowds were deafening, the community support was incredible, and my legs were screaming ‘enough!’ after Heartbreak Hill. I can’t wait to do it again!”

The Boston Marathon, the world’s oldest marathon, is one of the most prestigious long-distance running races in the world and was first held in 1897.  The 2019 Boston Marathon was the 123rd edition of the event, and included 26,737 finishers (26,632 runners, 60 wheelchair participants, and 45 handcycle participants).

Bauer Forensics, LLC www.bauerforensics.com provides expert witness services in the areas of injury biomechanics, products liability, orthopaedics, shooting reconstruction, visibility analysis, premises liability, collision/accident reconstruction, forensic photography, drone imaging, laser scanning and slip, trip and fall reconstruction.

Hayes+Associates, Inc. www.hayesassoc.com is an 11 person, Corvallis-based expert witness and consulting firm that focuses on forensic injury biomechanics related to vehicle collisions, premises safety, slips and falls, products liability, worker safety, sports and recreation, patent litigation and criminal matters.

When asked what it has been like to separate from an 18 year colleague, H+A founder, Toby Hayes said, “We miss him...both his infectious enthusiasm and his great skill at conveying complex information in courtroom settings. Thankfully, we continue to work together, referring cases and collaborating, in ways that sometimes seem like he never left.”

H+A engineer appointed to UP advisory board

Kristen E. Lipscomb, Ph.D., an associate at Hayes + Associates, Inc., has been appointed to a newly formed industry advisory board established at the University of Portland on behalf of students enrolled in a recently-established master’s degree program in biomedical engineering.

The BME board will meet twice annually. Its membership of approximately 10 advisors consists of industry experts, along with UP faculty. The master’s degree in BME, which has been available for about four years at UP, is a one-year (12-month) program with hands-on experience and an internship requirement. Students are enrolled in small classes of 10 to 15 with a focus on preparation for work in the industry; the program is not thesis based. 

The mission of the new advisory board is to provide strategic-level advice to the M-BME Program Faculty at the University of Portland. The board’s goals are to serve as a liaison to the public and private sectors of the industry, advise students on planning and establishing priorities, support the development of summer employment and placement of graduates, discuss the program with students and provide counsel/advice to the department, and increase support for the school.

Founded in 1901, the University of Portland hosts about 4,250 students and offers more than 40 undergraduate programs, 18 graduate programs and 230 minors. The school of engineering has four undergraduate programs (civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and computer science), and two graduate programs, in biomedical engineering and engineering.

Dr. Lipscomb was invited to join the BME board by a former fellow graduate student, Jennifer Symons, Ph.D, who is an assistant professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering at UP.

An associate at H+A since 2014, Dr. Lipscomb completed her B.S. in mechanical engineering at University of Delaware in 2006, an M.S. in biomedical engineering in 2008 at the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at the University of California-Davis in 2014.

Dr. Hayes visits local middle school to share case stories

On Friday, December 1, 2017, Hayes+Associates CEO, Toby Hayes, shared case stories and courtroom drama with 7th and 8th grade students in the AVID Program at Calipooia Middle School in Albany OR.
https://sites.google.com/albany.k12…/avidcms/the-avid-family. 

Hayes said, "It was a fantastic experience...the students were so enthusiastic, full of questions, and excited about the AVID program. And I got to pick up a few tips from them about how to write better notes, a skill that I definitely need to work on." Thanks to teachers Emily Staines and Stephanie Watson for the invitation and for being such great hosts.