Research Summary/Interests
Dr. Ellingson’s primary research focus is to detect biomechanical and imaging based biomarkers of spinal health. The diverse causes of back and neck pain lead to difficulties in differential diagnosis, hindering patient-specific individualized treatment. Dr. Ellingson’s multifaceted research strategy aims to overcome these limitations by identifying aberrant spinal motion patterns, quantifying intervertebral disc pathology, and isolating neuromuscular responses to pain. Ultimately, by integrating these approaches he strives to assess and enhance an individual’s functional ability in an effort to improve their quality of life.
Current Research Funding Grants
Scoliosis Research Society: Biomechanical and Mechanical Intervertebral Disc Profiles in Developmental Spinal Deformities
Selected Publications
- Ellingson AM, Shaw MN, Giambini H, An KN. Comparative Role of Disc Degeneration and Ligament Failure on Functional Mechanics of the Lumbar Spine. Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering. In Press
- Ellingson AM and Nuckley DJ. Helical Axes Patterns of the Lumbar Spine Altered by Severity of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration. Journal of Biomechanics, 2015. 48(2): 361-9.
- Ellingson AM, Nagel TM, Polly Jr. DW, Ellermann J, Nuckley DJ. Quantitative T2* (T2 star) Relaxation Times Predict Site Specific Proteoglycan Content and Residual Mechanics of the Intervertebral Disc Throughout Degeneration. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 2014. 32(8): 1083-9.
- Schroeder D, Korsakov F, Knipe C, Thorson L, Ellingson AM, Nuckley D, Carlis J, Keefe DF. Trend-Centric Motion Visualization: Designing and Applying a New Strategy for Analyzing Scientific Motion Collections. Visualization and Computer Graphics, IEEE Transactions on.2014;20(12): 2644-2653.
- Ellingson AM, Mehta, H, Polly Jr. DW, Ellermann J, Nuckley DJ. Disc Degeneration Assessed by Quantitative T2* (T2 star) Correlated with Functional Lumbar Mechanics. Spine, 2013. 38(24): E1533-40.
- Ellingson AM, Yelisetti V, Schulz CA, Bronfort G, Downing J, Keefe DF, and Nuckley DJ. Instantaneous Helical Axis Methodology to Identify Aberrant Neck Motion. Clinical Biomechanics, 2013. 28(7):731-735.
- Dahl MC, Ellingson AM, Mehta HP, Huelman JH, Nuckley DJ. The Biomechanics of a Multilevel Lumbar Spine Hybrid Using Nucleus Replacement in Conjunction with Fusion. The Spine Journal, 2013(2): 175-183.
- Ellingson AM, Nuckley DJ. Intervertebral Disc Viscoelastic Parameters and Residual Mechanics Spatially Quantified using a Hybrid Confined / In Situ Indentation Method. Journal of Biomechanics, 2012. 45(3): 491-6.
- Mehta H, Santos E, Ledonio C, Sembrano J, Ellingson A, Pare P, Murrell B, and Nuckley DJ. Biomechanical Analysis of Pedicle Screw Thread Differential Design in an Osteoporotic Cadaver Model.Clinical Biomechanics, 2012. 27(3): 234-40.
- Coffey D, Korsakov F, Ewert M, Hagh-Shenas H, Thorson L, Ellingson A, Nuckley DJ, Keefe DF. Visualizing Motion Data in Virtual Reality: Understanding the Roles of Animation, Interaction, and Static Presentation. Computer Graphics Forum,2012. 31(3): 1215-24.
- Jackson B, Coffey D, Thorson L, Schroeder D, Ellingson AM, Nuckley DJ, Keefe DF. Toward Mixed Method Evaluations of Scientific Visualizations and Design Process as an Evaluation Tool.BELIV 2012: Beyond Time and Errors: Novel Evaluation Methods for Visualization, Workshop at IEEE VisWeek 2012, 2012.
- Wheeler DJ, Freeman AL, Ellingson AM, Nuckley DJ, Buckley JM, Scheer JK, Crawford NR, Bechtold JE. Inter-Laboratory Variability in in vitro Spinal Segment Flexibility Testing. Journal of Biomechanics, 2011. 44(13): 2383-7.
