Formation | 1958 Biel, Switzerland |
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Type | not-for-profit |
Purpose | Treatment of trauma and disorders of the musculoskeletal system |
Key people | Maurice Edmond Müller, Robert Schneider, Hans Willenegger, Martin Allgöwer |
Website | aofoundation.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 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]