Fracture healing - resorbable fracture fixation plates

This research was completed on 30 September 2006

Project Leader	Professor K E Tanner DPhil, FIM, FIMechE CEng, Professor P A Revell PhD, FRCPath, Dr L Di Silvio PhD and Dr T Peijs PhD.
Location	IRC in Biomedical Materials, Queen Mary and Westfield College, London in conjunction with the Department of Histopathology, Royal Free and University College Medical School, London and the Institute of Orthopaedics, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore.
Grant awarded	31 October 2002
Start date	18 March 2003
End date	30 September 2006
Grant amount	£119,342.00
Grant code	AP0933

Currently, fractured bones are held together by metal plates but these are too stiff to allow fast healing and may also have to be removed once healing has taken place. These researchers are using a less stiff but equally strong plate which will “vanish” after the fracture has healed. The new plate is made of biodegradable materials which will break down into elements that can be either recycled or eliminated by the body. The researchers will study the interaction of cells with the materials, and their breakdown products, to make sure that they can be used safely in fracture repair.