AO Foundation

AO Foundation
Formation1958; 66 years ago (1958)
Biel, Switzerland
Typenot-for-profit
PurposeTreatment of trauma and disorders of the musculoskeletal system
Key people
Maurice Edmond Müller, Robert Schneider, Hans Willenegger, Martin Allgöwer
Websiteaofoundation.org

The AO Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the care of patients with musculoskeletal injuries or pathologies and their sequelae through research, development, and education of surgeons and operating room personnel. The AO Foundation is credited with revolutionizing operative fracture treatment and pioneering the development of bone implants and instruments.[1][2]

The AO Center at Davos

The foundation has its origins in a Swiss study group named Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen (Association of the Study of Internal Fixation), commonly referred to as the AO, that was founded in Switzerland in 1958[3][4] as a society. The AO became a foundation in December 1984.[3]

  1. ^ Matter, Peter (February 1998). "History of the AO and its global effect on operative fracture treatment". Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research (347): 11–8. PMID 9520870.
  2. ^ Joeris, A; Höglinger, M; Meier, F; Knöfler, F; Scholz, S; Brügger, U; Denk, E; Gutzwiller, F; Prein, J; Renner, N; Eichler, K (November 2019). "The impact of the AO Foundation on fracture care: An evaluation of 60 years AO Foundation". Injury. 50 (11): 1868–1875. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2019.07.016. hdl:11475/19470. PMID 31521377. S2CID 202582909.
  3. ^ a b AO Foundation History
  4. ^ Schlich, Thomas (2002). "Starting the Network". Surgery, Science and Industry. pp. 28–45. doi:10.1057/9780230513280_3. ISBN 978-1-349-43181-6.