AO Innovation Translation Center funding opportunities: Strategy fund resources
Created in 2013 to invest in strategically important new initiatives, the strategy fund has supported more than 25 projects.
Strategy fund supports inventors with early stage ideas to reach the proof of concept, focusing on:
- Clinical tools and technologies for any element of the entire patient journey in musculoskeletal disorders, from diagnosis to post-operative care; or
- Educational tools, platforms or channels for lifelong training of surgeons
Applications are evaluated for their impact on the mission of the AO and against the following criteria:
- Strategic impact and need
- Degree of innovation
- High potential growth area
- Feasibility
- Sustainability
- Quality of team
A new call for proposals is coming in mid-April.
The deadline to apply is July 31, 2021. Stay tuned!
If you have questions, the team is here to help!
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Key achievements
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Key partnerships
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GovernanceThe AO Foundation Board governs the strategy fund resources, through a committee comprised by the following members: Neal Futran (Chair-CMF surgeon), Jean Pierre Cabassu (VET surgeon) and Jeffrey Wang (AOFB representative – Spine surgeon). AO President-Elect Florian Gebhard (Trauma surgeon) is a permanent guest.
[Title] Our portfolio

Digitally Enhanced Hands-on Surgical Training
A new generation of hybrid surgical training tools
Early Rehabilitation During Disasters and Conflicts
Improving emergency care by providing key knowledge
Integrated navigation and robotics systems
Robot-assisted technology to revolutionize sacroiliac luxation/fracture reduction and fixation

OSapp
A new, interactive, virtual osteosynthesis software tool and learning platform
Reducing amputations in children in Ghana
Training traditional bonesetters with pediatric fracture management knowledge
[Title] Past projects
AO Interact
Learn about the interactive peer review and discussion platform for surgeons
Limb surgery in disasters and conflicts
Collaboration yields easy-to-read guide to managing limb injuries
AO Smart Socks
Innovating the rehabilitation of patients with pelvis and lower extremity fractures
AO Surgery Reference-Pediatric Trauma (AOSR-PT)
The world’s first comprehensive pediatric surgery reference is now available
Evaluation of Faculty Education Program
Fortifying education, a key pillar of the AO
Generic Asian Pelvic Bone Model
First evidence-based Asian pelvic bone model now in production
Pro-C: AO Trauma’s Proficiency Curriculum
Providing reliable metrics to assess trainees’ performance of practical tasks
Virtual Surgical Simulation Trainer
The most advanced tools to support surgical education

Generations Survey at the AO Foundation
A multilingual survey—covering three generations of AO Trauma members in AO Foundation’s five global regions—will examine how attitudes, work habits and behaviors could differ across the generations. The findings of this survey will serve as a cornerstone for shaping the organization’s strategy

AO VET North America Marketing Initiative
AO VET North America (AOVETNA) is demonstrating its relevance to key veterinary orthopedic organizations in North America and showcasing itself as the region’s primary source of veterinary orthopedic continuing medical education and recertification.

Play Safe with Sisimpur
An AO Foundation employee had an idea that they brought to the AO Strategy Fund for funding: why not develop educational content to prevent traumatic injuries in children in low- and middle-income countries? This could be achieved using the vehicle of one of the world's foremost leaders in...

AO Archive and History
The AO, founded in 1958, has a long and proud history. Similar to the way French hospitals revolutionized the physical diagnosis of patients in the 19th century, not by inventing something new but by standardizing, making routine and measuring the effects of the principles of...

Strengthening Preclinical Research
Getting funding to explore breakthrough surgical procedures, devices and substances that improve patient care can be difficult enough, and the challenge becomes even more daunting when the subject is improving research methodology.

AO Mobility Toolkit
This new could system could become standard in large, multicenter research trials