Filling the void

In traumatic accidents, broken bones can be reduced to bone fragments, sometimes leaving a void in the bone structure which needs to be filled.

Dr. Matt Frank is investigating the use of a Subtractive Rapid Prototyping process called CNC-RP to create replacement bone fragments. Bone fragments can be reverse-engineered from medical imaging such as CT scans and then automatically generated in advanced synthetic biomaterials and other bioactive/biocompatible materials. The research could impact the effectiveness of orthopaedic surgery for traumatic bone fracture, as custom prototyped bone fragments should aid in bone growth and improve recovery. This work is a collaborative project with the Orthopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory at The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.