Orthopedic and Dental Implants Aided by New Coating
A newly developed electrochemical process for coating metal implants vastly improves their functionality, longevity, and integration into the body, according to research conducted at Tel Aviv University. The new process has the potential to greatly improve the lives of people who have undergone joint replacement surgeries, improving their ability to walk, run and ultimately avoid the body's rejection of the implant.
Read more about Orthopedic and Dental Implants Aided by New Coating
Stem Cell Cartilage Offers Hope to Osteoarthritis Sufferers
Cartilage grown from stem cells in a laboratory may one day repair damaged knees, according to research from UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering. Lead author, Kyriacos Athanasiou and his team used adult stem cells from bone marrow and skin as well as human embryonic stem cells to grow cartilage tissue in the lab. Now they are experimenting with various chemical and mechanical stimuli to improve its results.
Read more about Stem Cell Cartilage Offers Hope to Osteoarthritis Sufferers
Drug May Extend Life of Arthritic Knees and Hips
An osteoporosis drug that is the first ever known to prevent cartilage loss following injury to a joint may also regenerate some cartilage that has been lost to osteoarthritis, according to research presented at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research in Denver. Though this initial study was done on mice, study authors claim that the model closely resembles human osteoarthritis that develops following knee injuries.
Read more about Drug May Extend Life of Arthritic Knees and Hips
Metal-Particle Inflammation Causes Joint-Implant Failure
The very joint implants that bring pain relief and restore freedom of motion to patients’ extremities can be their own undoing, setting off a metal-induced immunological defense mechanism that causes the implants to loosen and fail, according to a recent study.
The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and to be published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, was conducted by researchers at Rush University Medical Center. It won an award for scientific merit from the Orthopaedic Research Society.
Read more about Metal-Particle Inflammation Causes Joint-Implant Failure
Hip Replacements Fail Due to Implant Irregularities, Infection
Contrary to conventional wisdom, total hip replacements fail just as much, if not more so, from implant dislocation or infection than from the wearing out of the bearing surface, according to recent research.
While many thousands of people experiencing extreme pain from debilitating hip disease and other hip problems are helped each year with hip replacements that provide long-term relief, the study in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery said not much information previously existed about why some hip replacements fail among Americans.
Read more about Hip Replacements Fail Due to Implant Irregularities, Infection
Synthetic Bone May Assist Implant Surgery
British scientists have created a dissolvable ceramic bone substitute that, through a technique for building automobile catalytic converters, can be made highly porous so that natural bone cells can infiltrate it and use it as scaffolding for regrowing actual bone. The new material, which is expected to be especially helpful to patients facing bone-implant surgery, was developed at the University of Warwick by Kajal Mallick, assisted by postgraduate researcher James Meredith.
Read more about Synthetic Bone May Assist Implant Surgery
Biological Materials Seen Ousting Joint Replacements
Joint replacements are a major dimension of the orthopedics specialty, but they may be replaced in about 15 years by biological products that stimulate tissue and bone growth, according to a leading prognosticator. "We will be a little in the 'Star Trek' era, potentially," said Paul Olson, director of Viscogliosi Bros. LLC, a New York investment bank that specializes in orthopedics investment. He spoke recently at an orthopedic design and technology conference.
Read more about Biological Materials Seen Ousting Joint Replacements
Technique Aids Joint Replacements
A computer-aided bone-implant technique is coming on line that will increase the accuracy of implant insertions and decrease operating room time for hip, shoulder, knee and ankle replacements - especially for younger patients. The novel technology relies on software newly developed by the Human Mobility Research Center in Kingston, Ontario. It also depends on computed tomography (CT) scans of a patient's damaged joint. The software creates an exact, patient-specific, 3-D image of the joint and nearby bones, which can then be turned into a plastic model. This, in turn, is used for precise alignment and placement of the metal implants needed to redo the patient's joint with - in the case of hip surgery - so-called hip resurfacing arthroplasty.
Read more about Technique Aids Joint Replacements