Fixation of traumatic pubic symphysis disruption using a new cable implant system: pre-clinical assessment of a 3D printed prototype

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Martin C. Jordan
• Subject Area: Orthopaedics, Traumatology, Reconstructive Surgery ; Primary Shaping and Reshaping Technology, Additive Manufacturing
• Term: from 2020 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 452787269

In an interdisciplinary approach to medical innovation, the departments of Anatomy and Orthopedic Surgery propose the collaboration with the Center for Additive Production to develop a new cable-implant-system for the treatment of the traumatic disruption of the pubic symphysis. This project aims to create an alternative to the current gold-standard symphyseal plating by including a trans-obturator cable fixation of the pubic symphysis. Cable fixation is an attempt at avoiding common complications associated with the current treatment standard (implant loosening, implant failure). A collaborative, multidisciplinary concept allows implant development and manufacturing, evaluation of the clinical application in cadaver specimens, and biomechanical testing of the implant characteristics within one project. After the digital planning, a 3D printing technology called cold-metal-fusion will be used to create an implant prototype. This implant can then be tested for safe operating techniques through the application in human cadaver pelvises. Finally, a biomechanical evaluation should allow insight into material properties and the long-term stability of the new implant in synthetic and human bone. The final analysis of the proposed cable implant could pave the way to possible prospective clinical studies and a modern future in the treatment of pelvic injuries.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigators: Professor Dr. Süleyman Ergün; Professor Dr. Rainer Meffert