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Researchers have the technology to fix Eduardo-style leg injuries

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26.02.2008

Following the Eduardo Da Silva football injury(1) a leading UK medical engineer says: “We have the technology to help rebuild him.”

The comments were made by Professor Peter Ogrodnik, from Staffordshire University, who has spent 15 years perfecting medical devices and techniques for the repair of shattered limbs, in particular, the tibia (shin bone).

He has led the development of unique treatments for tibial fractures, including the Staffordshire Orthopaedic Reduction Machine or STORM.

“The application of STORM and similar techniques”, said Professor Ogrodnik, “has been proven to improve the treatment of patients suffering a broken leg”.

Of the 300 subjects treated in a trial, led by Professor Ogrodnik and his team, more than 100 were footballers. Success stories have included Phil Talbot, a Port Vale player who defied predictions that he would never play again after a serious leg break.

“Any unstable (3) fracture is, of course, very serious but a fractured tibia is a common injury, it is in fact the most commonly broken long bone in the human body,” explained Professor Ogrodnik.

“I have spent the past 18 years researching the best ways to repair broken tibias and this expertise has helped my team to develop a radical new approach to treating fractured limbs.

“Our reduction method to get the broken bone back into the correct alignment not only speeds up the healing process but also ensures the patient can walk the next day and the longer term results are more promising. For the hospital, the operations are more predictable and are shorter in duration.”

A spin-out company, Intelligent Orthopaedics, sells the unique products for the treatment of limb fractures to hospitals worldwide.

Professor Ogrodnik will be teaching new courses in medical engineering at Staffordshire University from September.

James Tallentire | Source: alphagalileo
Further information: www.staffs.ac.uk

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