As part of BoneFix’s continued evaluation of adaptable light-cured implants for bone fixation, surgeons Thomas Colding-Rasmussen and Christian Wong from RegionH in Copenhagen decided to investigate the novel concept from a usability perspective. Five surgeons with varying degrees of experience were gathered together and taught how to make fixation patches for the first time. The reproducibility of the procedure and the learning curve of each surgeon were investigated by evaluating the mechanical properties of the resulting patches, with support from Peter Schwarzenberg from AO Research Institute Davos (ARI).
From a surgeon’s point of view any new technology should be safe and effective as well as easy to use in current practice. In the case of light-cured composites for fracture fixation, their intrinsic adaptability could certainly be an advantage; however, it induces an aspect of uncertainty given that surgeons will customize patient specific fixation plates during surgery.
To ensure that a new technology is incorporated into everyday practice there must be supportive evidence that the application and curing procedure is not too complicated and that the final plate ensures sufficient support of the fracture.
The aim of the usability study is to establish a baseline on what to expect when transferring the fixation concept from research to end-users. The study is expected to reveal important insights into potential end user variability.
Visiting the site as technology experts were also the BoneFix partners Jorge San Jacinto Garcia PhD-student at KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Ulrik Birgersson Head of Clinical and Medical Affairs at Biomedical Bonding AB (BMB).
On the picture, from left: Thomas Colding-Rasmussen (Region H), Jorge San Jacinto Garcia (KTH), Peter Schwarzenberg (ARI) and Ulrik Birgersson (BMB).
