The latest regional and National guidelines identify in translational research the core activity of a Scientific Research Hospital (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico - IRCCS) as the Rizzoli. IRCCSs must, in fact, serve as a hinge-joint between scientific research and the treatment of patients.

At the Rizzoli, this mission is also reflected at the organizational level. The activity of the Rizzoli is, in fact, assigned to a departmental organization in which two departments of the Institute (the Complex Orthopaedic-Trauma Pathology Department and the Special Orthopaedic-Trauma Pathology Department) results constituted by the aggregation of operative assistential units and operative research units (research laboratories).

The main objective of these two departments is, in fact, the convergence of competences from the different operational units, to allow a stricter integration between the scientific research activity and the activity for assistance and care.

Furthermore, the Rizzoli-RIT Department is included in the Regional High Technology Network and carries out, in addition to translational research, also activities of technology transfer to the world of industries.

At the Rizzoli, the performed scientific activity is also differentiated into "current" research and targeted research.

Research results: scientific publications

One of the most important indicators of scientific production is built from the produced scientific publications. The scientific publications realized by the staff of the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute in the latest years, evaluated by normalizing the SCI impact factor according to ministerial criteria, are reported in the following table.