From all over the world to Davos

As a Master's degree student in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in biomechanics, it seemed only natural to Amirsiavosh Bashardoust to come to the AO Research Institute Davos (ARI) for his mandatory six-month internship. Bashardoust, whose main research interest is in orthopedic biomechanics, is spending his placement in the Biomedical Development program, where he examines how the digital processing of images from CT scanners can be combined with statistical analysis in order to enhance the fixation of bone fractures.

Bones are size and shape specific for each individual patient. As a result, no two fractures are alike: when a bone breaks, it will always result in a unique fracture pattern. Bashardoust is hoping that his work can bring computer-aided image processing and data analysis methods closer together with real-world medical treatment routines: "For instance, if we can get a better understanding of how exactly a bone has fractured, then it is much easier to manufacture an optimal implant," he explains.

Originally from the Iranian capital Tehran, 24-year-old Bashardoust has come to Switzerland to attain his Master's degree at the at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in French-speaking Romandy. That experience, coupled with the opportunity to spend time in Davos in the German-speaking part of the country, has considerably broadened his horizon, he says, both on a personal and a professional level: