By Professor Peter Ogrodnik (Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Institute for Science & Technology in Medicine, Keele University)
The Internet of Orthopaedics
Developing a faster and cheaper alternative to fracture clinics
“
The device could
reduce the cost
and time burden
to the NHS, as
well as the impact
on the patient and
their carers.
After nearly 25 years research into the management of
long bone fractures I have developed a reputation in
medical device design. I have designed and launched a
number of products that
are used in hospitals in
the UK, Germany, USA
and beyond. My latest
book, Medical Devices
Design, is a core reference text for some major industries and is essential reading for anyone concerned with the
design and development of a medical deISTM’s new Professor of Biomedivice, be they surgeon or
cal Engineering, Peter Ogrodnik engineer.
unique testing regimes and equipment. Currently we can
determine the performance of fixation systems and the
insertion breaking strength, insertion, and extraction torques of bone screws, and drilling torques of drill bits.
My current research is targeted at using the Internet of
Things concept within orthopaedic trauma; our research
team has coined this as “The Internet of Orthopaedics”.
Our research suggests that remote diagnostic tools on an
instrumented fixation system could reduce the number of
fracture clinics by at least 60%, meaning that the device
could reduce the cost and time burden to the NHS, as
well as the impact on the patient and their carers. A prototype device has been designed, calibrated and tested .
Early signs demonstrate that the device is able to predict,
in advance, when a fracture will be healed. In addition it
may also detect signs of a non-union well in advance of
current practice. It is anticipated that a multi-centre study
will begin some time in the near future.
Over the past 25 years, Professor Peter Thomas and I
have established a recognised centre for research into
the treatment of tibial fractures. Together, we have developed a unique fixation system that enables patients to
walk the next day after operation. It combines all of our
research to establish an optimum environment that helps
the fractures to heal as fast as possible (currently the
shortest is 8 weeks 3 days). Furthermore, the device contains a unique, quantifiable measurement of when the
fracture is healed.
Without the capability for laboratory testing none of these
developments would have seen the light of day in the real
world; so my research is also concerned with developing
Devices on display at EFORT 2014
REHABILITATION
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