The AO consolidates a collaboration with Brainlab
2023
The AO consolidates a collaboration with Brainlab, a medical technology company.
MoreIn the late 1940s, the biology of bone healing had not been scientifically investigated and knowledge was sparse.
The book, 'Théorie et Pratique de l'Ostéosynthèse' by Belgian surgeon Robert Danis, published in 1949, attracted the attention of a young, innovative Swiss surgeon, Maurice E Müller.
Maurice E Müller visited Danis in March 1950 and gathered a small group of Swiss surgeons—Robert Schneider, Hans Willenegger, Martin Allgöwer, and Walter Bandi—who shared his interests in researching bone healing.
On November 6, 1958, the AO/ASIF was established at the Hotel Elite in Biel by a group of 13 Swiss surgeons including: Maurice E Müller, Robert Schneider, Hans Willenegger, Martin Allgöwer (pictured 2nd from left), and Walter Bandi. Müller brought the group together to champion revolutionary techniques of internal fixation that achieved unprecedented results in healing bone fractures.
The first undertaking of the AO founders—Maurice E Müller, Robert Schneider, Hans Willenegger, Martin Allgöwer, and Walter Bandi—was to find a suitable place to conduct research. Davos was selected as the location, and the previous tuberculosis facility run by Alexander Spengler in Villa Fontana was identified as the ideal place for the newly established Laboratory for Experimental Surgery (LECD, Labor für experimentelle Chirurgie Davos). Allgöwer was its first director. Each of the AO founders made significant financial contributions towards the start-up costs for the AO's first research facility, known since June 1992 as the AO Research Institute Davos (ARI).
The four pillars developed by Maurice E Müller, Robert Schneider, Hans Willenegger, Martin Allgöwer, and Walter Bandi were: 1. Development of implants and instruments, 2. Research of fracture healing and tissue cultures, 3. Documentation of all patients, 4. Teaching of osteosynthesis techniques.
Led by the AO founders Maurice E Müller and Martin Allgöwer, 69 surgeons attended the first AO Davos Courses and learned new techniques in trauma surgery. The four-day course was organized by the AO Laboratory of Experimental Surgery (LECD, Labor für experimentelle Chirurgie Davos).
The AO Foundation established the AO Technical Commission (AO TC) as the institute responsible for the development and approval of innovative surgical techniques, implants, and instruments. The AO TC System is medically guided by independent surgeons who are responsible for the development and clinical testing of new devices. Today the AO TC System consists of the TC Executive Board (TC EB), Technical Commissions, and Expert Groups for trauma, spine, craniomaxillofacial, and veterinary surgery.
Building upon the success of the first courses, the second annual AO Davos Courses had 102 participants, including the first American surgeons. The educational curriculum was expanded to include biomechanics of fractures.
This instrument box for compression plates, as shown in the first AO manual from 1963, represents many of the medical advances developed by the AO. With the proper teaching, these standardized high-quality instruments and implants would allow surgeons around the world to replicate the success of the Swiss founders in treating fractures. At this time, AO equipment was technically superior to anything previously made, especially the Müller compression plate when compared with the Lane plate.
The AO consolidates a collaboration with Brainlab, a medical technology company.
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MoreAO Global Data was developed to cultivate improved treatments and outcomes, benchmark performance, and drive clinical research worldwide. It offers a...
MoreThe AO Foundation Board approved AO Access, establishing the diversity, inclusion, and mentorship initiative firmly within the AO and demonstrating...
MoreIn April, construction of a state-of-the-art, purpose-built stable facility to house the world’s first specific pathogen free (SPF) flock of sheep...
MoreDesigned to support the AO's global network of health care professionals, myAO offers surgeons the opportunity to connect with other medical...
MoreThe AO officially launched its new master brand at the 2019 Davos Courses.The initialism AO forms the AO master brand. Its soft, curved form...
MoreThe AO community celebrated 40 years of AO Trauma in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region at the Dubai regional courses.
MoreOn November 6, 2018, the AO Foundation celebrated its establishment sixty years earlier at the Hotel Elite in Biel, Switzerland. A group of Swiss...
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MoreCarsten Perka and Jean-Noël Argenson chaired AO Recon's first ever course, held during the AO regional courses. The two-day event, "Principles of...
MoreAO Alliance was established building on the work of AO Socio-Economic Committee (AO SEC) and dedicated to improving the care of the injured in low-...
MoreAO Recon is a community of experts dedicated to delivering outstanding education that was established to respond to the rising number of joint...
MoreThe AO Strategy Fund was created to manage and invest in strategically important new initiatives. More than 20 multiyear projects have been approved...
MoreAO Trauma was formed to create an international community of trauma and orthopedic surgeons, musculoskeletal researchers, and operating room personnel...
MoreAO Craniomaxillofacial (AO CMF) was formed to support a worldwide network of clinicians from the fields of oral and maxillofacial surgery, plastic...
MoreAO Middle East was officially established in Davos, Switzerland. Today, health care professionals across the Middle East and Northern Africa region...
MoreThe sale marked the beginning of a new chapter for the AO, established Synthes as the AO's sole implant partner, and went on to form the basis for its...
MoreThe AO's online resource for the management of fractures, AO Surgery Reference, was launched to provide health care professionals with a comprehensive...
MoreA year after AO Spine was formally established, the first course was held. Today, AO Spine has grown and offers over 200 educational events worldwide,...
MoreAO Spine was formally established in 2003 as an international organization of spine surgeons dedicated to generating, disseminating and exchanging...
MorePublication of the first edition of the AO Principles of Fracture Management marked a generation change at the AO. Custodianship over the AO body of...
MoreDocumentation has been a pillar of the AO since the very beginning. The first AO Documentation Center was created by AO founder Maurice E Müller in...
MoreAO Research Institute Davos (ARI) launched the eCells & Materials Journal (eCM), one of the first ever online open access scientific journals in the...
MoreAn idea that originated during the 1997 AO Trustees meeting was realized in 1998 when AO Latin America was created with Dr Jaime Quintero as its first...
MoreAO East Asia was officially established with its first President Dr Suthorn Bavonratanavech from Bangkok, Thailand. In 2007, the region was renamed AO...
MoreThe AO Foundation's first regional group, AO North America, was established in 1992. This step was key to the growth and global development of the...
MoreThe AO's first research facility, Laboratory of Experimental Surgery Davos (LECD, Labor für experimentelle Chirurgie Davos), founded in June 1959, was...
MoreThe AO's headquarters in Davos, known as the AO Center, opened in 1992, bringing the foundation’s research, education, clinical documentation, and...
MoreIn 1988, three AO founders received the highest scientific recognition of the Swiss Government, the Marcel Benoist Prize, also known as the Swiss...
MoreThe Charter of the AO Foundation was signed in Davos, Switzerland, formally establishing the AO as an international organization with Martin Allgöwer...
MoreBuilding on the first course's success, the second course in the Middle East and Northern Africa region took place in Alexandria, Egypt. Held in El...
MoreBy the late 1970s, the AO had become a truly international organization, and the first course was held in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA)....
MoreThe first AO Foundation course was held in Asia Pacific. Since then, the AO Asia Pacific network has grown to over 5,800 members. Offering health care...
MoreThe first AO Foundation course was held in South America. It took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from Sept 7–13, 1975.
MoreThe first AO CMF course, Fractures of the Mandible, was held in Davos under the leadership of Professor Bernd Spiessl and Professor Joachim Prein. At...
MoreThe first AO Foundation course in Latin America took place in Mexico in 1972, and the AO presence has grown consistently across the region to...
MoreThe first AO VET course was held in Bettlach, Switzerland. AO VET's courses immediately found an audience of veterinary surgeons eager to learn. Since...
MoreThe AO Davos Courses were attracting so many surgeons that they needed a larger venue. When the new Davos Congress Centre opened its doors in 1969,...
MoreBy the late 1960s, interest in AO courses had spread so quickly that it became necessary to offer courses in different countries. The first AO course...
MoreIn the early years, AO surgeons worked side by side with several veterinarians interested in learning the new techniques. They saw opportunities for...
MoreThis instrument box for compression plates, as shown in the first AO manual from 1963, represents many of the medical advances developed by the AO....
MoreThe AO Foundation established the AO Technical Commission (AO TC) as the institute responsible for the development and approval of innovative surgical...
MoreBuilding upon the success of the first courses, the second annual AO Davos Courses had 102 participants, including the first American surgeons. The...
MoreLed by the AO founders Maurice E Müller and Martin Allgöwer, 69 surgeons attended the first AO Davos Courses and learned new techniques in trauma...
MoreThe four pillars developed by Maurice E Müller, Robert Schneider, Hans Willenegger, Martin Allgöwer, and Walter Bandi were: 1. Development of...
MoreThe first undertaking of the AO founders—Maurice E Müller, Robert Schneider, Hans Willenegger, Martin Allgöwer, and Walter Bandi—was to find a...
MoreOn November 6, 1958, the AO/ASIF was established at the Hotel Elite in Biel by a group of 13 Swiss surgeons including: Maurice E Müller, Robert...
MoreMaurice E Müller visited Danis in March 1950 and gathered a small group of Swiss surgeons—Robert Schneider, Hans Willenegger, Martin Allgöwer, and...
MoreThe book, 'Théorie et Pratique de l'Ostéosynthèse' by Belgian surgeon Robert Danis, published in 1949, attracted the attention of a young, innovative...
MoreIn the late 1940s, the biology of bone healing had not been scientifically investigated and knowledge was sparse.
More