Slashdot Mirror
World's First Biodegradable Joint Implant Grows New Joints
cylonlover writes "Joint implants should always be made of materials like titanium, so they can last the lifetime of the patient ... right? Well, not according to researchers at Finland's Tampere University of Technology. They've developed a product known as RegJoint, which is reportedly the world's first biodegradable joint implant. Unlike permanent implants, it allows the patient's bone ends to remain intact, and it creates a new joint out of their own tissue."
They were talking about Marijuana?
If your Penis has joints in it, you've got more serious concerns.
+1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
So I'll save anyone wanting to read the article for scientific details the trouble: they don't even mention the material used!
So I searched around and found this. http://www.scaffdex.com/sites/default/files/RegJoint_IfU_rev_0_1.pdf
I thought I knew polymers, but my biochemistry is a bit weak. 96L/4D poly-L/D-lactide copolymer fiber. Seems to be porous, is that the key to making a bodily joint?
Apparently it loses it strength as quickly as within 15 to 24 weeks and then completely loses its strength within a few years. Meanwhile, your body is allowed a framework to develop around after physical trauma.
If your Penis has joints in it, you've got more serious concerns.
Like which axial direction to articulate in? One direction could lead to a new baby while the other will have you questioning the bars you've been going to.
'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
I wonder what's stoppiong us from creating bones made of bone with stem cells.
"If your Penis has joints in it, you've got more serious concerns."
Like maybe having too many genes in common with chimpanzees or gorillas?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baculum
Except this is for arthritis in finger joints, which the body does not tend to repair on its own. I suppose eventually, if it works in fingers, they will find a way to do knee joints with it as well. (i suspect that would involve months of low/no impact rehab/physical training to allow the joint to re-develop.)
I've decided to Diversify my Holdings. I've divided my cash between my left and right pockets, instead of all in one.
That was what struck me (purely as a layman commenting on slashdot, of course) as being one of the tricky things:
The body normally 'allocates' bone growth in response to physical stress, which is why those astronauts lazing around in zero G come back with bones like your great grandmother; but you presumably don't want to stress a comparatively delicate implanted polymer scaffold more than absolutely necessary until it has regrown into a proper bone structure(worst cases, the thing either dissolves without any regrowth, and you've just got a nice gap to show for your OR time, or it re-ossifies after having been deformed into some gnarled, nonfunctional horror-shape).
I'm impressed by the delicate balancing of initial strength vs. absorption rate and/or biochemical trickery to induce growth without strain that they must have used to achieve bone regrowth without deforming or destroying the implant before its necessary lifespan is over...
Or, as Jay-Z once poetically put it, "If you got penis joint problems, I feel bad for you son. I got 99 problems but a penis joint ain't one."
William of Ockham had no beard. The most likely explanation is that it was chewed off by squirrels every morning.
Joint implants are not titanium. No, no no. That's a myth that won't die.
No, sorry it is you that is mistaken. Medical grade titanium (Ti6Al4V Grade 5) is widely used for joint implants because it is biocompatible and MR safe. ASTM-75 is only classified as MR Conditional at best so its effect on MR image quality and localized tissue heating has not yet been fully established.
Just do a search on Titanium joint implant and you'll see they do in fact exist and are quite popular
Tesla was a genius. Edison however was a overrated hack who liked to torture puppies.
From TFA: "The implant has been in development since the mid 90s, and is intended for use in the small finger and toe joints of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis patients. It is made from a polylactide copolymer, and is inserted within the joint capsule of the affected digit." There are a relatively small part of the total joint replacement world. There are fairly few of these arthroplasties done: usually they are fused with a fair functional result. The joints most often replaced are knees and hips, shoulders sometimes and elbows even less. The two former are weight bearing, and the arthroplasty must be able to withstand 10+ years of wear. The growing mass (physical I mean) of the average individual is making this job increasingly difficult. And the endless ads from personal injury lawyers trolling for new clients for their class action cases against total joint makers underscores the dangers associated with a new technology in this field.
Hmmm, fact of the day -- a new word. Now to use it in a sentence with a random stranger. "Hey, is that a baculum in your pants or are you just glad to see me?"
rgb
Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken. --- Bertrand Russell.
Yes