INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering at Indiana University School of Medicine is welcoming a new faculty member, whose innovative focus on prosthetic research will add a new dynamic to the team.
Ajay K. Seth, MD, a board-certified orthopedic hand and upper extremity surgeon officially joined the Indiana Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering on October 1, 2019 as an adjunct faculty member.
Seth earned his undergraduate medical degree from a combined program at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He completed his orthopedic residency program at Ohio State University and went on to do a fellowship in hand and upper extremity surgery at Allegany General Hospital.
Seth is the first surgeon in the United States to provide, through surgery, an amputee the ability to move and feel a prosthetic hand with her brain. During the 16-hour procedure, the surgeon was able to re-route nerves in the upper arm to give the patient the ability to feel as though the prosthetic hand is her own. “Vice News” covered the procedure in their Mother Board Series. Six weeks after surgery, the patient demonstrated that she could feel and move a prosthetic arm and hand.
“I welcome Dr. Seth to our team. With his arrival we will be able to understand the barriers and opportunities in achieving targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) and targeted sensory reinnervation (TSR),” said Chandan K. Sen, PhD, Indiana Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering Executive Director. “TSR and TMR have much to offer to the future of regenerative rehabilitation.”
Regenerative rehabilitation is a major area of research for the center. In this program, the primary goal is to utilize the science of regenerative medicine and engineering to improve the prosthetic experience of amputees.
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IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability.