Scientists from the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) have created a radiolucent mini-fixator similar to the Ilizarov apparatus, which allows better control and analysis of the treatment of patients with bone and joint injuries and diseases. This has been reported area University.
Experts replaced the metal structure with polymer composite materials that transmit X-rays and have strength properties similar to metal. At the same time, the updated device has become lighter, and the manufacturing technology has become simpler and cheaper, which makes it possible to customize the size and shape of the device, taking into account the clinical condition, build and age of the patient. Now development is undergoing clinical trials at the FEFU Medical Center.
“The latch turned out to be convenient and useful in eliminating the obvious chronic deformations of the fingers. The simultaneous elimination of the deformity in such cases is associated with the risk of stretching the neurovascular bundles, which can lead to impaired blood flow and loss of the finger. The mini-fixer allows you to gradually remove the deformation. In the treatment process, the “transparent” mini-fixator does not cover the bones and joints of the hand on X-rays, ”said MD Alexander Zolotov, a traumatologist-orthopedist of the medical center, professor of the Faculty of Medicine of FEFU. .
The Ilizarov apparatus was created in the 1950s. The design consists of rings pulled through the bone, to which the bars are fixed. The rings are interconnected by means of rods that allow you to set the desired stretching or compression of the bone fragments in order to affect the fracture healing process and gradually eliminate complex deformations of bones and joints. Such a device can be adjusted quite easily, which allows the displacement of the rods in fractions of a millimeter.
Scientists formerly at the Technical University of Denmark created multi-level framework for almost perfect healing of major bone defects in a short time.