- Yes, guys its a hard time when a persons suffers with a fracture or a broken bone. It calls a surgeon to fix it through implanting plates and screwing the broken bones to get them bond tough and let it to heal. This fixing plates and screws are usually made of metals and its alloys
- Metal alloys are tough and are easy to machine, more over it is saving a life. But metal alloys too have some disadvantages because they are stiff they produce stresses in the bones later thus increasing the risk of infection and thus the a reduction in healing. In some cases of younger’s it must be removed when this is healed thus leading to second time surgery .
- Now, you people are well known about restorable fixation devices which have been substitute for this type of surgery . as they are made of synthetic fibers but although this have some limitations as it increase the rate of inflammatory reaction and are difficult to fabricate and implant too.
- Now, the need has given born to a revolutionary change in the book of surgery.
- Silk protein extracted from silk cocoons, a team of investigators from Tufts University School of Engineering and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has developed surgical plates and screws which not only promise to have a faster and stronger but also much safer way of fracture healing.
- “Unlike metal, the composition of silk protein may be similar to bone composition,” says sources.
- “Silk materials are extremely robust. They maintain structural stability under very high temperatures and withstand other extreme conditions, and they can be readily sterilized.” Says Mr.kaplan an associate of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC)
- “One of the other big advantages of silk is that it can stabilize and deliver bioactive components, so that plates and screws made of silk could actually deliver antibiotics to prevent infection, pharmaceuticals to enhance bone re-growth and other therapeutics to support healing,” says again Mr.Kaplan.
- This is not only on papers but has been its impact on practical issues as to test the new Devices, The investigators implanted a total of 28 silk-based screws in six laboratory rats. Insertion of screws was straightforward and assessments were then conducted at four weeks and eight weeks, post-implantation.
- “No screws failed during implantation,” says Kaplan, explaining that because silk is slow to swell, the new devices maintained their mechanical integrity even when coming into contact with fluids and surrounding tissue during surgery.
- However, It takes some years to be implemented on Humans so guys please be careful with your bones till it gets implemented fully and sources reveal it might be used in years around 2020.
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- Anything got to say? Shoot your views below….
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