Healing Water - application of waterjet drilling for orthopaedic surgery

Gabriëlle Tuijthof was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1975. She graduated cum laude in Mechanical Engineering at Delft University of Technology in 1998, specializing in human-machine systems. Her PhD thesis, which was completed both at Delft University of Technology in Delft and at the Amsterdam University Medical Center (location AMC) in Amsterdam, researched the development of new surgical techniques for exploratory surgery in joints. "I am passionate about the human body; especially the musculoskeletal structures have my interest. It is fascinating to discover how well humans are adapted to perform complex precise actions. With this interest and the drive to contribute meaningfully to society, I became involved in the field of minimally invasive surgery and interventions in orthopaedics (arthroscopy). As a researching designer or designing researcher I focus on bridge the gap between fundamental science and clinical application by joining engineering disciplines." She has remained affiliated to the AMC since 2003 and is currently research manager of the Academic Centre for Evidence-based Sports Medicine (ACES). She worked on various projects. Between 2006 and 2012 she was assistant professor at Delft University of Technology and focused on the improvement of surgical performance by using new instruments and the development of training simulators. Gabriëlle was promoted to associate professor and created her own research group Joint Engineering, in which PhD students and postdocs work on subsidized projects such as Healing Water (STW), Steerable Punch (ZonMW), Vibrant Vision (STW), and Compliant Needle (ASPASIA). Following a successful accreditation process, she was appointed as the director of education of the bachelor programme Clinical Technology in 2013. This is a joint Bachelor's degree offered by Medical Delta, a partnership between the universities of Leiden, Delft, and Rotterdam. Gabriëlle was also the editor of an ESSKA text book Effective Training of Arthroscopic Skills, published in 2015, has written more than 75 peer-reviewed publications, and is the co-inventor of four patents. From 2016-2018 she chose to switch towards an even more applied approach in the field of medical technology by her appointment as lector of the Research Centre for Smart Devices at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences. She focused on healthy movement by addressing the design, development, and implementation of new wearables, apps, and biosensors. Currently, I have refocused towards medical technology in general as program manager at IDEE Maastricht University. In my free time, I like to do loads of different sporting activities, enjoy nice company with good food and volunteer for Foundation to Build. This foundation was founded by my sister and brother in law and assists in building schools and medical buildings in Africa.