Ethical Issues at the Interface Between Orthopedics and Bioengineering

Abstract

Involvement in medical research since the mid 1960s has at one time or another resulted in my participating as a member of a research team. Sometimes the team members have been all MD clinicians, sometimes a group of PhD researchers (usually biochemistry) and I, and sometimes a combination of bioengineers and clinical researchers. Some of the team efforts were exceedingly productive, and some fell short of their potential. After all is considered, it seems clearly evident that the output of a team that works comfortably with a shared vision can make much more substantive contributions than any individual working within the confines of a single discipline. But divisive issues that center on questions of right and wrong can arise in what had seemed a well-planned effort on the front end. Rather than embarking on a theoretical survey of bioethics, which I am in no way qualified to do, I wish to share a few real experience scenarios which involved clinicians and bioengineers who were working together. Right and wrong were not always clear, and you, the reader, are invited to make your own judgment.