Hyperelastic bone. (Photo : Notrhwestern University)
A new and synthetic "hyperelastic bone" (HB) being hailed as a breakthrough in reconstructive surgery stands to do a world of good for children and for adults, as well.
A flexible bone-grafting material, HB can be customized using a 3D printer and implanted in the body to repair damaged bones. It supports broken bones and was found to promote bone growth around the structure in tests on animals.
Developed by a team of researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois, HB is both structural support and a scaffold for bone regeneration. It opens the possibility hospitals can use an in-house 3D printer to build 3D custom implants on demand.
Because of its ease of use, HB is a promising aid to conventional treatments such as metal plates and rods for fractured arms and other bone repair surgery.
The hyperelastic bone is mostly made from a naturally occurring mineral called "hydroxyapatite," a form of calcium found in bone and already used in reconstructive surgery. HB mostly consists of hydroxyapatite in ceramic powder form blended with a polymer called polycaprolactone.
Hydroxyapatite is quite brittle, but researchers toughened it by mixing it with a polymer to add flexibility. Researchers have printed 3D print bone graft from hydroxyapatite and tested it.
Researchers said the material will be more valuable where metallic implants are used to treat bone defects in children because these implants often need to be replaced as the child grows.
"Adults have more options when it comes to implants," said Ramille Shah, lead researcher of the study published in Science Translational Medicine.
"Pediatric patients do not. If you give them a permanent implant, you have to do more surgeries in the future as they grow. They might face years of difficulty."
Physicians will be able cut out patches of the material if printed in sheet form. HB can also be printed at room temperature and used almost immediately after printing.
"The turnaround time for an implant that's specialized for a customer could be within 24 hours," said Shah. "That could change the world of craniofacial and orthopedic surgery, and, I hope, will improve patient outcomes."
