Development of minimally invasive treatments for orthopaedic surgery

Millions of people worldwide have benefitted from hip and knee joint replacements, with success rates averaging around 90% after 10 years implantation. However, these reported outcomes often do not account for those that have joint replacements but retain a sedentary lifestyle because of a lack of confidence or inadequate healing of soft tissue around the replacement. The proposed project aims to develop and assess a radically new type of implant for the treatment of osteoarthritis. This implant would be positioned minimally invasively within the affected joint space, differentiating it from all current implant solutions. As people are living longer and keeping active in later life, such a solution will help address the issues of confidence and inadequate healing, by restoring the joint's natural kinematics, without the need for healthy bone removal, and with minimal soft tissue trauma.
The proposed project will assess the various joints that are susceptible to osteoarthritis and determine the limitations with current treatments. Following this, a joint will be selected and a simulator built that will recreate the kinematics and loads of the joint, and which will be able to be tested in situ in a CT scanner.
Finally, additive manufacturing will be employed to create the minimally invasive implant device. The concept will require elements of design, materials selection, surface chemistry and fixation to be developed. Evaluation of the concept will involve rigorous mechanical testing and development of state of the art imaging protocols that enable in situ deformation of the device to be quantified.