The biomechanical aspects of fracture treatment are an important consideration when aiming to generate stable fixation for bone healing. In mid-August researchers from the BoneFix consortium visited the AO Research Institute Davos (ARI) in Switzerland to collect novel data on the loads acting on the hand under physiological conditions. The team at ARI, with work led by Peter Varga and implemented by Peter Schwarzenberg, has developed a biomechanical testing setup to simulate rehabilitation exercises and establish new knowledge of loading scenarios aiming to enhance the understanding of what forces an osteosynthesis device needs to withstand.
This is important data for the BoneFix project to enable assessments in a clinically relevant situation and comparison of the BoneFix technology with metal-based fixations. The ground-breaking work performed at ARI is a much-needed step towards validation of any novel fracture fixation implant based on materials that cannot compete with the often unnecessarily high strength of metals but that can still be sufficiently strong for fracture stabilisation for selected applications. In an expanded view, this will allow for the development of implants based on more adaptable, active and compatible materials than those existing today.
In addition to the ARI team, participating in Davos were surgeons Thomas Colding-Rasmussen from and Tine Weis from RegionH (Denmark), project coordinator Daniel Hutchinson and Jorge San Jacinto Garcia from KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden) and Viktor Granskog from Biomedical Bonding AB (Sweden).
The team outside AO Research Institute Davos, (from left to right) Peter Varga (ARI), Daniel Hutchinson (KTH), Viktor Granskog (BMB), Jorge San Jacinto Garcia (KTH), Peter Schwarzenberg (ARI), Thomas Colding-Rasmussen (Hvidovre Hospital).