Group 6 - Clinical evaluation of materials and personalized implant development

Research directions: Clinical studies on biomaterials for bone regeneration using 3D planning and printing technologies. Main fields- maxillofacial surgery, periodontology, endodontics.

Fields of expertise:

Testing and evaluating 3D planning programmes and printers;
Testing of radiology and maxilla facial surgery equipment;
3D surgery planning, 3D printing of anatomical models, guides and implants;
Design of clinical studies;
Exploratory and inferential analysis of research data;
Clinical data modelling;
Data processing for research repository in FAIR format, and data management plan protocols;
Facial reconstruction after trauma and tumor resection;
Autotransplantation of teeth;
Orthognathic surgery

Scientific leader:Dr. Ilze Salma, MD		Group leader:Dr. Sergio Uribe, DDS, PhD

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-8560-373X		ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0684-2025
Scientific leader of BBCE project at Riga Stradins University Institute of Stomatology. Assistant professor at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Oral Medicine, Riga Stradins University. Certified anesthesiologist. 2009 defended Ph.D. thesis about the Morphofunctional response of tissue after intranasally implanted synthetic hydroxyapatite ceramic materials. Has been involved in many national and international research projects. Scientific interests – 3D printing, testing and evaluating of biomaterials, Platelet-rich fibrin.		Dr. Sergio Uribe is a dentist and maxillofacial radiologist. He has defeated Ph.D. and currently works as an associate professor at Riga Stradins University in Riga, Latvia. Uribe's primary focus is on using clinical and epidemiological study designs, statistical modeling, and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the diagnosis and treatment of oral conditions, particularly caries, oral cancer, and temporomandibular joint disorders. He is particularly interested in using deep learning and machine learning techniques to analyze dental radiography images for the early detection and prognosis of oral diseases and developing clinical trial protocols incorporating these technologies.

Dr. Ieva Bagante, MD, DDS, Dr.med.

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0982-4877
Certified in Oral and maxillofacial surgery and Dentistry.
Assistant professor in the department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Oral Medicine, Riga Stradins University.
Head of the department of Oral and maxillofacial Surgery in P. Stradins Clinical University Hospital.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeon at the Institute of Stomatology and Children's Clinical University Hospital.
Postdoctoral researcher at the Baltic Biomaterials Excellence Centre. Ongoing research on 3D planning of surgical treatment of orbital floor and/or multiple facial fractures.

Doctor of medical science. Certified plastic surgeon – dr. med. Janis Zarins

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-1168-0921
Dr. med. J. Zarins graduated from Riga Stradins university in 2018 becoming a certified plastic surgeon. In 2020, he defended his Ph.D. thesis about bone tissue regeneration and became a Doctor of Medical Science. Dr. Zariņš has been working at the Microsurgery Centre of Latvia since 2013 and has specialized in reconstructive microsurgery for oncological patients, where soft tissue and bone tissue reconstructions must be done after tumor resection procedures. In the head and neck area, complex mandible and maxillary reconstruction are done wh a transplantation of different microvascular flaps.
In the framework of the BBCE project, a contemporary approach is realized for patients with head and neck tumors for better preoperative planning and treatment. Mandible or maxilla 3D models are developed according to radiological examinations. Individual planning is done after oncological principles and patient-specific cutting guides are manufactured with a 3D printer. Virtual preoperative planning provides more options to perform anatomical reconstruction and decreased the time for surgery and improvement of quality of life. Dr. Zarins has specialized in temporomandibular joint (TMJ) reconstruction, where a new reconstructive surgical method has been developed for patients with huge joint, bone, and soft tissue defects. This technique provides autologous reconstruction using only the patient's healthy tissue to replace all lost structures after tumor resection. This technique is promising especially for patients undergoing postoperative radiotherapy.

Medical Engineer: Oskars Radzins

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2443-9582
Graduated from the University of Glasgow (Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom) in 2012 with a master’s degree in biomedical engineering. Recently has started further education as a PhD student at Riga Technical University, faculty of computer science and information technology.
As a medical engineer, the main role within the project is contributing to the transitional point between the physical and digital domains in the healthcare sphere. Some of the primary tasks include data management, computer-assisted modeling, methodology development for conducting digital measurements, object design, and preparation for 3-D printing.

Ph.D. student Dr. Miks Lejnieks, DDS

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-9903-9452
2007- 2012 dental degree (DDS) at Riga Stradins University.
2018- 2022 EAO Master Diploma in Dental Implantology.
2013- Doctor of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery clinic "RSU Institute of Stomatology".
2020- studies at RSU Ph.D. program "Medicine".
2020- Ph.D. student of Baltic Biomaterials Excellence Centre.
Within the framework of the BBCE project, “The effectiveness of using three-dimensional printed replicas in autotransplantation of unformed third molars” is being studied.

Ph.D. student Dr. Lana Micko, MD, DDS

ORDIC ID: 0000-0001-9408-162x
Oral and maxillofacial surgery 3rd-year resident in Riga Stradins University.
Riga Stradins University 3rd year Ph.D. student in Doctoral program Medicine.
In 2017 got a medical doctor (MD) degree, and in 2020 got a doctor of dental surgery (DDS) degree.
Works at RSU Institute of Stomatology and at Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital. At RSU is a lecturer in the Faculty of Dentistry and a laboratory assistant in the Oral and maxillofacial surgery department.
In BBCE works in the bone regeneration research field while working on research “Evaluation of Platlet-Rich fibrin effectiveness in contour defect modeling in orthognathic surgery”.
Works on scientific project “Development of antibacterial autologous fibrin matrices in maxillofacial surgery (MATRI-X)”.