The team of Professor Guo Zheng from the Department of Orthopedics, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Military Medical University, successfully implanted a titanium alloy support rod with a gradual mimicking of human bone structure into patients with femoral head necrosis, effectively alleviating pain symptoms and improving joint function. According to the search, the clinical application of 3D printed bionic porous support rods for the treatment of femoral head necrosis is the first case in the world.
High incidence of femoral head necrosis Early and mid-term intervention is critical
Femoral head necrosis is one of the common and difficult to treat chronic diseases in orthopedics. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently about 30 million femoral head necrosis patients worldwide and about 4 million in China. The early manifestations of this disease are mostly pain around the hip joint and exacerbation after movement. Further development can lead to the collapse of the femoral head, and eventually the artificial joint can only be replaced. Clinical intervention in the early and middle stages of femoral head necrosis to delay or prevent the collapse of the femoral head is an important measure for hip protection.
In the past, the main intervention method for patients in the early and middle stages was to decompress the femoral head. Although simple decompression can relieve pain symptoms, the lack of mechanical support in the necrotic area may accelerate the collapse of the femoral head. At present, porous tantalum rods are used for support in the world, but the therapeutic effects of porous tantalum rods are limited.
8 years of innovation research and development of femoral head support rod
Aiming at the key treatment characteristics of early and mid-term interventions for femoral head necrosis, since 2010, Professor Guo Zheng's team has started the research on early and mid-term treatment of femoral head necrosis. In 1 national key research and development, 2 national 863 plans and 4 national natural science funds With funding, successfully established a large animal model of femoral head necrosis, and developed more than ten support rods of different configurations and different materials, and obtained 4 national invention patents, and published 11 researches on porous support rods in international authoritative journals.
The support rod developed by Professor Guo Zheng's team innovatively adopts the gradual imitation of human bone structure and central pipeline design. The gradual imitation of human bone structure can replace or share the load-bearing function of the femoral head, so that the patient can avoid the collapse of the femoral head under normal walking conditions. , It is beneficial to bone tissue infiltration and tightly integrates with surrounding bones to increase mechanical properties. The central tube design can be used as a channel to maintain decompression of the medulla core, or as a channel for injection of artificial bone or other osteoinductive active substances, so that the injected artificial bone or osteoinductive drug can be distributed to the necrotic area of the femoral head to promote new bone formation. , Repair necrotic areas.
3D printed support rod implanted in vivo Minimally invasive and precise treatment of femoral head necrosis
42-year-old Li Wei (pseudonym) from Yulin, Shaanxi, had pain in his left hip joint 6 months ago, which became significantly worse when squatting or tired. After arriving at Xijing Hospital, bilateral femoral head necrosis was diagnosed after examination. After consultation, the expert team decided to apply a series of innovative achievements to implant a titanium alloy femoral head support rod for human bone structure.
Before the operation, Xijing Hospital's Orthopedics Department jointly designed with Xi'an Dimension Biotechnology and Shaanxi Dongwang Technology. Based on the image data of the femoral head necrosis area, through digital individualized design, 3D printed titanium alloy femoral head support rods mimicking human skeletal structure. According to Professor Fan Hongbin, the chief surgeon of this operation, the entire procedure was minimally invasive and the implantation process was smooth. It only took 30 minutes, avoiding joint replacement, realizing minimally invasive precision operations, and saving surgical costs. On the day of the operation, the pain around the hip joint was significantly relieved, and the joint function recovered satisfactorily one week after the operation.
It is reported that the 3D printed imitation human bone titanium alloy femoral head support rod has been awarded a national invention patent, which provides a new solution for the treatment of femoral head necrosis and is expected to benefit more patients with femoral head necrosis in the near future.