AO Technical Commission
The AO Technical Commission sits at the heart of the AO Innovation Translation Center (AO ITC) covering Innovation Clearing and Clinical Expertise for our four specialties: trauma, spine, craniomaxillofacial, and veterinary surgery.
Medical-technical committees are responsible for the development and clinical testing of new devices and for supporting their educational concepts. Around 120 outstanding surgeons across the world work together with engineers to solve the most pressing clinical problems.
How we work
The AO Technical Commission consists of three specialty AO technical commissions (Trauma, Spine, and CMF), various Global Expert Committees, Expert Groups, and Task Forces which are convened to provide expert opinion in their respective specialist areas. In a collaborative approach, these committees include representation from the AO's trusted partner DePuy Synthes, a Johnson&Johnson Group Company, or other industrial partners, and may involve colleagues from other AO institutes when needed. The AO Technical Commission plays a crucial role in quality control and product development, forming an essential link between the AO's clinical divisions, clinical units, other institutes, initiatives, and the AO's global network.
Governance
[Title]AO TCEB
| Chair | Maarten Spruit, NL (Chair AO TC Spine) |
| Members | Michael G Fehlings, CA (Chair AO ITC Clinical Scientific Advisory Commission) Michael J Raschke, DE (Chair AO TC Trauma) Daniel Buchbinder, US (Chair AO TC CMF) |
[Title]AO TC Trauma
| Chair | Michael J Raschke, DE | |
| Members | Keith A Mayo, US Carlos F Sancineto, AR Andrew K Sands, US Wa'el Taha, ZA (Chair AO Trauma EC) Merng K Wong, SG |
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| Member without vote | Michael P Kowaleski, US (Chair VEGEC) |
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Lower Extremity GEC (LEGEC)
Chair Christoph Sommer, CH Members Christopher G Finkemeier, US
Martin H Hessmann, DE
Christina A Kabbash, US
Cong-Feng Luo, CN
Unni G Narayanan, CA
Jong-Keon Oh, KR
Matías F Sepúlveda Oviedo, CL
Karl K Stoffel, CH
Michael P Swords, USFoot and Ankle EG (FAEG)
Chair Michael P Swords, US Members Christina A Kabbash, US
Tim Schepers, NL
Matthew Tomlinson, NZIntramedullary Nailing EG (INEG)
Chair Christopher G Finkemeier, US Members Martin H Hessmann, DE
Mark Lee, US
Andrew JR Oppy, AU -
Pelvic and Joint Preservation GEC (PJPGEC)
Chair Michael D Stover, US Members Ye S Huang, CN
Mauricio Kfuri, US
Philipp Lobenhoffer, DE
Rodrigo F Pesantez, CO
J Spence Reid, US
Takeshi Sawaguchi, JP
Steffen Schroeter, DE
Elvire Servien, FR
Theodor F Slongo, CHPelvic EG (PEEG)
Chair Michael D Stover, US Members Jorge D Barla, AR
Robin E Peter, CH
Ramesh K Sen, IN
David Stephen, CAMAXFRAME TF (MFTF)
Chair Theodor F Slongo, CH Member J Spence Reid, US Next Tomofix TF (NTTF)
Chair Kenichi Goshima, JP Member Ye S Huang, CN
Kang-Il Kim, KR
Hidetomo Saito, JP
Hui Zhang, CNDeformity Correction Planning TF (DCPTF)*
Chair Steffen Schroeter, DE Member Julian Fuermetz, DE
Joerg Harrer, DE
*Collaboration with mediCAD Hectec GmbH, Germany -
Upper Extremity GEC (UEGEC)
Chair Simon M Lambert, GB Members Jonathan Dwyer, GB
Thomas J Fischer, US
Mario Gasparri, US
Harry Hoyen, US
Martin Jaeger, DE
Chunyan Jiang, CN
John Mukhopadhaya, IN
Stefaan Nijs, BE
Stefan Schulz-Drost, DEHand EG (HAEG)
Chair Thomas J Fischer, US Members Martin Langer, DE
Alejandro Lluch Bergada, ES
Stephen Tham, AU
Sudhir S Warrier, INThoracic EG (THEG)
Chair Mario Gasparri, US Member Michael Bemelman, NL
Silvana Marasco, AU
Stefan Schulz-Drost, DE -
Veterinary GEC (VEGEC)
Chair Michael P Kowaleski, US Members Erik Asimus, FR
Loïc M Déjardin, US
Janik C Gasiorowski, US
Fabrice Rossignol, FR
W Brian Saunders, US
Jeffrey Watkins, USConsultant Randy J Boudrieau, US Large Animal EG (LAEG)
Chair Jeffrey Watkins, US Members Janik C Gasiorowski, US
Fabrice Rossignol, FRSmall Animal EG (SAEG)
Chair Michael P Kowaleski, US Members Erik Asimus, FR
Loïc M Déjardin, US
W Brian Saunders, US
Consultant Randy J Boudrieau, US -
Additional EGs and TFs
Asia Pacific EG (ASEG)
Chair Jong-Keon Oh, KR Members Ashok S Gavaskar Kumaresan, IN
Ye S Huang, CN
Chunyan Jiang, CN
Cong-Feng Luo, CN
John Mukhopadhaya, CN
Andrew JR Oppy, AU
Takeshi Sawaguchi, JP
Ramesh K Sen, IN
Etsuo Shoda, JP
Stephen Tham, AU
Matthew Tomlinson, NZ
Sudhir S Warrier, IN
Fang Zhou, CNPediatric EG (PAEG)
Chair Jonathan Dwyer, GB Members John Mukhopadhaya, IN
Unni G Narayanan, CA
Matías F Sepúlveda Oviedo, CL
Theodor F Slongo, CHNext Generation Plating TF (NPTF)
Chair Christoph Sommer, CH Members Jonathan Dwyer, GB
Thomas J Fischer, US
Harry Hoyen, US
Mauricio Kfuri, US
Mark Lee, US
Cong-Feng Luo, CN
W Brian Saunders, US
Takeshi Sawaguchi, JP
Ulrich Stoeckle, DE
Michael P Swords, US
[Title]AO TC Spine
| Chair | Maarten Spruit, NL |
| Members | Emre Acaroğlu, TR (Chair AO Spine EC) Richard Bransford, US Christian Mazel, FR Jean A Ouellet, CA Bangping Qian, CN Kota Watanabe, JP Jack Zigler, US |
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Cervical Spine EG (CEEG)
Chair Richard Bransford, US Members Osmar JS Moraes, BR
Chung Chek Wong, MY -
Fracture, Tumor and Deformity EG (FTDEG)
Chair Christian Mazel, FR Members Philip Horsting, NL
Naresh Kumar, SG
Firoz Miyanji, CA
Yu-Mi Ryang, DE
Emiliano Vialle, BR -
Lumbar Degenerative EG (LDEG)
Chair Avelino Parajon, ES Members Alexandre Sadao Iutaka, BR
Matti Scholz, DE
Matthew Scott-Young, AU
Peter Derman, US -
Osteoporotic Spine Surgery TF (OSSTF)
Members Richard Bransford, US
Isador H Lieberman, US
Christian Mazel, FR
Osmar JS Moraes, BR
Jean A Ouellet, CA
Bangping Qian, CN
Maarten Spruit, NL
Kota Watanabe, JP -
Cervico-Thoracic Instrumentation TF (CTITF) *
Chair Christian Mazel, FR Members Lorin Benneker, CH
Michelle Clarke, US
Naresh Kumar, SG
Firoz Miyanji, CA
Yu-Mi Ryang, DE
Maarten Spruit, NL
Jean-Paul Wolinsky, US
* Collaboration with icotec AG, Switzerland
[Title]AO TC CMF
| Chair | Daniel Buchbinder, US |
| Members | Gregorio Sánchez Aniceto, ES (Chair AO CMF IB) Nils-Claudius Gellrich, DE Gerson Mast, DE Damir Matic, CA Alf L Nastri, AU |
| Member without vote | Eppo Wolvius, NL (Chair AO CMF R&D C) |
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CMF Distraction TF (CDTF)
Chair Alberto A Rocha Pereira, PT Members Stephen Dover, GB
Maarten J Koudstaal, NL
Gerhard S Mundinger, US
Adi Rachmiel, IL -
Patient Specific Solutions TF (PSSTF)
Chair Michael P Grant, US Members Thomas Kofod, DK
Majeed Rana, DE
Patricia M Stoor, FI
Jesse A Taylor, US
[Title]Interdisciplinary groups
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Anti-Infection GEC (AIGEC)
Chair Michiel Verhofstad, NL Members Kirsten Kortram, NL
Willem-Jan Metsemakers, BE
William T Obremskey, US
Gregory Schroeder, US
Andrej Trampuz, DE
Peter Vajkoczy, DE
Zhao Xie, CN -
Computer Assisted and Image Guided Surgery GEC (CIGEC)
Chair Paul A Gruetzner, DE Members Andrew T Bucknill, AU
Meir Liebergall, IL
Amir Matityahu, US
Marc Metzger, DE
Greg M Osgood, US
Avelino Parajon, ES
Alexander Schramm, DE
Edward B Strong, US
Seth R Yarboro, USSmart Digital Solutions TF (SDSTF)
Chair Benedikt J Braun, DE Members Bernd Grimm, LU
Meir Marmor, US
Peter Richter, DE
Sureshan Sivananthan, MY -
Internal Distraction TF (IDTF)
Chair Chang-Wug Oh, KR Members Scott P Bartlett, US
Philip Horsting, NL
Steffen Rosslenbroich, DE
AO Technical Commission structure as of July, 2021 
Experts Symposia
Where outstanding minds come together in a robust process to monitor the performance of existing solutions and identify unmet clinical needs.
Meet the Experts
Wherever you are in the world, whatever your field of interest, Meet the Experts has something for you.
AO Approved Solutions
Offering detailed descriptions of AO Approved Solutions, including videos and clinical cases.
AO TC history
Key people, events and technical advances from the last 60 years.
Latest innovations
Learn about the newest AO Technical Commission approved products in Trauma, Spine, CMF, and Vet.
Innovation translation
Innovation translation at the AO involves developing disruptive technologies to address unmet clinical needs.
