The Orthopaedic & Rehabilitation Engineering Center (OREC) is designed to promote and encourage significant advances in clinical research through coordinated endeavors between Marquette University and the Medical College of Wisconsin. These opportunities are afforded to faculty and students at Marquette University and to faculty, fellows, and residents in the departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Designed to be of mutual benefit to faculty, students and staff, OREC seeks to establish a focus of excellence with national recognition in research and research training while increasing levels of extramural support. Through economics of scale, OREC offers an academically effective and cost-efficient means of supporting high-level, productive, clinical research laboratories, and it provides academic opportunities to faculty and students that support professional development of the highest caliber.
Dr. Karen Kruger Receives $3.2 Million from the NIH to Study Pediatric Foot DeformitiesSep 2025:
Dr. Karen Kruger, co-director of the Orthopaedic & Rehabilitation Engineering Center and research associate professor in the Marquette University and Medical College of Wisconsin Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, has received an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health with an anticipated value of $3.2 million to complete a comprehensive study of the 3D structure and function of pediatric flat feet throughout growth and development.
Kruger will form a consortium with colleagues from the University of Utah; University of California, Davis; University of Nebraska Medical Center; and the Medical College of Wisconsin to assess weightbearing computed tomography (WBCT), and its ability to provide 3D radiographic imaging, for use in developing children. It will also continue the longstanding collaboration between the Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Engineering Center at Marquette and Shriners Children’s, which provided the preliminary data for this study. The long-term focus of this project is to provide a more comprehensive assessment of the 3D structure and function of flat foot structure in children and allow for accurate clinical assessment and targeted treatment planning.
Collaboration featuring engineering, occupational therapy and high school students creates hundreds of adapted toys for children (Marquette Today)
Marquette hosts 3rd annual toy build for Inclusive Play, a collaboration between OREC and Penfield Children's Center seeking to empower children with different abilities (620WTMJ)
Drs. Jeffrey Toth and Carol Everson Receive $555 K NIH Award to Study Chronic Sleep Deficiency as a Cause of Bone Loss in Aging
Bucks, Modine host ride-on car fitting day in collaboration with OREC's Go Baby Go! MKE (Milwaukee Bucks Community Facebook Page)
Go Baby Go!: OREC Engineers work to adapt motorized cars for children with special needs (Fox6 Milwaukee)
Flipping the Switch:How two Marquette Engineers help children in need play and explore (Marquette Today)
Adaptive Toy Build: OREC Engineers work with Penfield Children's Center and a host of volunteers to adapt toys for use by children with different abilities (Association for Manufacturing Technology, Marquette Today,NBC 4, TMJ4, FOX6,620WTMJ, WISN 12)
OREC Global Mobility Engineer Molly Erickson visits Xavier Gait Lab in Mumbai, India
Marquette engineering students recreate 'Santa's Workshop' for children at Penfield Children's Center (58 WDJT—Milwaukee)
Inclusive Play, a collaborative project between OREC and Penfield Children's Center seeking to provide accessible toys for use by children with different abilities, completes second Build Day (TMJ4, Morning Blend)
Opportunities are available for individuals looking to get involved with OREC or the Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Engineering communities.
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