About

Cheal Biomechanics is the sole proprietorship of Edward J. Cheal, Ph.D., Consultant.

I have over 35 years of experience in orthopaedic biomechanics, including 24 years of industry experience and 7 years of professional academic and consulting experience in the fields of hip and knee joint arthroplasty. Highlights of my education and career include:

  • Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1983)
  • Ph.D. in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics from the Harvard-M.I.T. Division of Health Sciences and Technology (1986)
  • Senior Research Associate, Orthopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston (1986-91)
  • Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery (Biomechanics), Harvard Medical School and Co-Director of Biomechanics at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital (1989-93)
  • Director of Research, Johnson & Johnson Professional (1993-99), responsible for all research and development supporting the hip and knee replacement business units
  • Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer, Apex Surgical / OMNI life science, Inc. (1999-2017). The primary business of OMNI is the design, development, and marketing of orthopaedic implants and robotic surgical tools for hip and knee arthroplasty. Besides corporate management, my responsibilities included product design, numerical analysis, mechanical testing, intellectual property, and support of Regulatory and Product Liability. During my tenure OMNI became the world leader in robotic knee arthroplasty with over 17,000 cases performed using the OMNIbotics™ robotic surgical system of the over 80,000 total knee arthroplasties performed using the Apex Knee System. In 2019 OMNI life science was acquired by Corin Group (Corin website).

In June 2017 I happily retired from full time employment. After enjoying most of the summer off I began part time independent professional consulting in the areas of orthopaedic biomechanics and joint arthroplasty. My areas of professional expertise include:

  • materials, design, and analytical biomechanics of medical implants;
  • surgical robotics and instruments;
  • clinical outcomes of joint arthroplasty;
  • orthopaedic product liability; and
  • intellectual property

For more information, including my current CV, please use the Contact form (top of the page). Thank you for your interest!

-Ed