Japan scientists eye made-to-order bones

Japan scientists eye made-to-order bones

au.news.yahoo.com

TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese hospitals are running a clinical trial on the world's first custom-made bones which would fit neatly into patients' skulls and eventually give way to real bones.

If successful, the Japanese method could open the way for doctors to create new bones within hours of an accident so long as the patient has electronic data on file.

Doctors usually mend defective bones by transplanting real bones or ceramic substitutes. The Japanese implants use a powder of calcium phosphate, the substance that makes up real bones.

The new implants are called CT Bone as they are crafted using the patient's computer tomography (CT) data, a form of medical imaging.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Losing a limb because the bone has been irretrievably crushed in an accident maybe a thing of the past. This happens more than we realise on our roads. Our military men and women could benefit also after a projectile smashes its way through bone. People crushed in earth quacks and building collapsed could also benefit.

What a great piece of research




au.news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

If successful, the Japanese method could open the way for doctors to create new bones within hours of an accident so long as the patient has electronic data on file.

Hey, that's handy.

But handy for whom?

[edit on 23-11-2008 by Merriman Weir]

Originally posted by Merriman Weir

If successful, the Japanese method could open the way for doctors to create new bones within hours of an accident so long as the patient has electronic data on file.

Hey, that's handy.

But handy for whom?

[edit on 23-11-2008 by Merriman Weir]

I imagine you might register if you were into dangerous sports like free fall parachuting. I wondered what data they needed until I realised it would be a skeletal scan a measure up that way they would know what to produce if you got smashed.

This is amazing and good news. I know a few people that sure could have benefited from this if this existed a few years ago.