From the CEO and the President:
Leveraging research, innovation, and education for enhanced patient care
In 2024, the AO Foundation continued its mission to improve patient care through innovation, development, and translation by inaugurating and transforming discoveries into impactful solutions that enhance surgical practices. Effective governance is crucial to maintaining the AO’s integrity and independence. Our governance framework supports transparency, accountability, and strategic decision-making, enabling us to navigate global challenges and adapt to the fast-changing healthcare environment. By implementing structures and processes that promote diversity, inclusivity, and sustainability, we ensure that the AO remains attractive to upcoming generations and continues to evolve in line with our mission. Integrating the AO’s community and governance with the collaborative strengths of the AO Research Institute Davos (ARI), the AO Innovation Translation Center (AO ITC), and the AO Education Institute (AO EI), we create a dynamic cycle of research, innovation, and education that improves patient outcomes on a global scale.
Ongoing clinical applications in 2024 of the AO Fracture Monitor and the Biphasic Plate delivered promising results, while other developments continued to advance, such as a bioresorbable, injectable, antibioticeluting hydrogel targeting the prevention of fracture-related infections. Innovations such as these are first grown within our research institute, often with a clinical question in mind, and then cross-pollinated with our innovation and education institutes as solutions to be deployed into clinics and classrooms. This AO value chain is further strengthened through our longstanding industrial partnership with Johnson & Johnson MedTech, which delivered seven new solutions in 2024.
Research
Central to our initiatives, the ARI is a beacon of scientific advancement, directing preclinical research and innovations that directly translate into enhanced patient care. In 2024, several ARI researchers were recognized among the top two percent of scientists globally, underscoring our standing as a powerhouse of orthopedic science knowledge. With 102 publications delivered by ARI researchers in 2024 (99 of which were peer-reviewed), our contributions to the field are significant and impactful. The inaugural ARI Orthopaedics Conference held in Davos in 2024 was fully booked, convening an engaged community of scientists, clinicians, and infection disease specialists from all around the globe, fostering essential exchanges on the latest findings concerning orthopedic infections—a significant obstacle in the recovery process for numerous patients.
Groundbreaking AO solutions that are now on their way to be integrated into classrooms and clinics—including the Biphasic Plate (a plate designed to enhance bone healing through controlled micromovement), Fracture Monitor (an implantable telemetric sensor system that continuously and objectively monitors bone healing progression), and the Digitally Enhanced Hands-On Surgical Training (DEHST) platform—were first born within the ARI addressing clinical needs through research, work that then transferred through the AO’s value chain.
Innovation
Innovation at the AO ITC focuses on translating scientific breakthroughs into clinical realities. Through guidance from the AO’s expert community, especially the esteemed AO Technical Commission (AO TC), we ensure that our novel surgical solutions adhere to the highest clinical standards. Based on the VOLT™ technology released in 2023, the VOLT™ Wrist and Proximal Humerus Plating Systems—both approved by the AO TC in 2024—provide exceptional locking performance and stability and illustrate our commitment to precision in fracture fixation. The TriALTIS™ system, another AO Approved Solution in 2024, has established pioneering benchmarks in the treatment of spinal deformity and degenerative conditions through enhanced implant design.
The AO’s Knowledge Forums (KFs) are at the forefront of uniting global experts in spinal surgery to tackle clinical needs through the creation of evidence-based treatment guidelines and speeding up the process of translating innovations into clinical applications for the benefit of patients through the AO’s Knowledge Translation initiative. In 2024, the KFs published multiple clinical practice guidelines and related documents that have been downloaded more than 62,000 times and cited more than 100 times respectively. These high-impact resources are instrumental in clinics and classrooms around the world, empowering surgeons with the essential tools to make informed decisions and consistently provide exceptional patient care. We celebrated a decade of AO Innovation Funding in 2024, an achievement highlighted through success stories of recipients such as Momentum Health, which received FDA clearance in 2024 for its AI-enabled mobile application designed to enhance surgical decision-making.
In total, the AO ITC delivered 26 peer-reviewed publications in 2024, further solidifying its role as a leader in clinical research and innovation.
Education
Education is vital to the AO’s value chain, transforming our research and innovations into practical knowledge for surgeons and medical professionals. In 2024, the AO delivered more than 900 courses to approximately 65,000 participants through our network of over 8,000 expert AO Faculty. The AO EI is dedicated to equipping practitioners globally with the latest surgical techniques and insights, and through its adaptive learning capabilities, the AO EI serves as a focused and efficient tool for surgical education, making it easy for practitioners to access tailored information that meets their specific needs.
By collaborating with esteemed faculty and surgeon leaders, the AO EI designs innovative curricula and engaging educational formats that emphasize exceptional patient care. For over 65 years, the AO has set the gold standard in surgeon education, providing a range of learning opportunities, including hands-on training, expert-led lectures, and cutting-edge technologies like AO XR and the recently approved DEHST, the latter of which was approved by the AO TC in 2024.
Our annual AO Davos Courses highlight our commitment to education, and in 2024, we welcomed over 1,500 healthcare professionals, which resulted in a complete fill rate and a long waiting list, showcasing a mix of scientific sessions, live demonstrations, and networking opportunities. Through the guidance of the AO Davos Courses Steering Committee, we implemented new analyses and processes that ensure earlier planning, financial transparency, and the integration of new technologies, talent search, and industrial partners into our annual program—all of which enable the constant integration of innovative elements for the future. This event exemplifies our ability to merge research, innovation, and education and empower surgeons to improve patient care and outcomes.
Community and governance
A core value of the AO is that we deliver access to a lifelong, trusted community and network of renowned specialists in the field of surgery, from surgical practitioners to researchers and from young, talented residents to seasoned world-leading surgeons. The AO’s strength lies in the unique combination of this expert community and governance structure, a notable combination composed of highly specialized professionals who share a commitment to advancing the field of surgery, offering unparalleled personal engagement and passion that delivers a creative, supportive ecosystem that fulfills the AO’s mission. Trust, mutual support, mentoring, and shared responsibility drive a continuous motor for sustainability and creativity toward new solutions and strategies.
The AO Trustees Meeting 2024, held in June in Davos, Switzerland, reaffirmed the AO’s purpose as a lifelong, trusted community dedicated to improving treatment options for the benefit of patients, surgeons, and our communities. The meeting emphasized the importance of preserving AO’s clinical specialties, maintaining our position as an independent, trusted, scientific, and global organization, and the need for continuous innovation and adaptation.
The Trustees encouraged us to be open and attractive for upcoming generations. They asserted the value of the AO’s complementary role to scientific societies, as we offer significant benefits through collaboration while maintaining our independence—a strategic, tangible purpose seen in action with the collaboration agreement between the AO and the Asia Pacific Orthopedic Association (APOA) that was signed at the AO Davos Courses in December 2024. This agreement recognizes the AO as an independent global research and education entity; APOA has invited AO Trauma to be its first international guest society, underscoring the importance of this recognition and its success. In addition, for the first time, the AO is working on a memorandum of understanding with the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (US) with the clear intent to share forces on our combined visions and mission. Collaboration is in the AO’s DNA, as we see the fruits of this also through the long-lasting, excellent collaboration of AO Germany with the German Trauma Society, as well as with the German Orthopedic and Trauma Society, which served as the template for enhancing our ideas through different channels.
In other specialties, the AO can act as an independent provider of science and knowledge exchange. Under the guidance of Jeffrey Wang and AO Spine, the Global Spine Congress (GSC) evolved to become the leading global scientific congress for the surgical treatment of spinal disorders, tumors, and trauma. With 2,030 delegates in Bangkok in May 2024, GSC is now the largest global platform for presenting cutting-edge research and developments in surgical spine care. FaceAhead, the bi-annual AO CMF convention, took place in Prague, Czech Republic, bringing together more than 350 speakers and participants in craniomaxillofacial surgery from all around the globe.
A powerful chain delivering improved patient outcomes
The AO is strategically positioned at the forefront of surgical advancements by harnessing the combined strengths of our highly specialized and engaged community and governance as well as our research, innovation, and education institutes. Discoveries are translated into practical solutions, empowering surgeons with the knowledge and tools to provide premier patient care. 2024 reaffirmed our steadfast commitment to improving surgical outcomes worldwide—a journey that our dedicated team and community will continue to pursue with enthusiasm, determination, and expertise.
Tim Pohlemann
AO President
Claas Albers
CEO & Vice Chairperson