Two Queensland University of Technology students have developed interesting bone healing technologies. First, Wayne Shaw developed a system that uses bioresorbable microspheres to deliver calcium phosphate (a bone growth activator) to sites of injury or osteoporosis:
“As the microspheres degrade the calcium phosphate compounds are absorbed and encourage the bone to grow quickly into the area and build new bone,” Mr Shaw said.
“The microspheres, which are highly porous, range in size from 50 to 500 microns and have calcium phosphate abundantly deposited throughout the pores, can be used in a variety of ways.
Another student, Achi Kushnir, created a load bearing bioresorbable ceramic:
Fellow fourth year biomedical engineering student Achi Kushnir has developed a load bearing ceramic material capable of carrying the same bone growth enhancing chemicals and of being absorbed by the body.
Mr Kushnir has integrated a dense ceramic core with a porous ceramic layer that can be used in place of metal implants for some clinical situations because it will attach to and integrate with bone and eventually degrade away.
Technologies like these have been in development for years, but it’s really cool to see students’ senior projects be so fully developed and useful.
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