Qi Wei Chen, Feng Xiao Reng, Zhang Teng, Leung Li Ka Frankie
Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2020 Jul;2020:5167-5170. doi: 10.1109/EMBC44109.2020.9175437.
Micromotion can accelerate fracture healing, with critical parameters being range of motion, frequency of motion, duration of motion, as well as initial timing of the motion. However, these parameters of micromotion have not been optimized. It is because in previous studies large animals were used. The displacement among fracture fragments caused by animal activity brings a considerable systemic error to experimental data. Also, the sample size is limited by time and cost. Thus, the rat with femur fracture can be a good animal model in investigating this problem as its advantages on high consistency of experimental results, short convalescence, and low maintenance cost. The challenge in using a small animal model in the micromotion study include 1) highly specific stiffness of the fixator; 2) lightweight fixator to bring less interference to animal's activity; 3) high accuracy on measurement method. This study aims to solve this problem by integrating 1) an aluminum fixator with a solid construction; 2) a modularized experimental device with dismountable parts; 3) a non-contact measurement model based on video identification technology. Our preliminary validation results confirmed the reliability and reproducibility of the external fixation device used in the investigation on the effect of applied micromotion on bone healing.
微动可加速骨折愈合，关键参数包括运动范围、运动频率、运动持续时间以及运动的起始时间。然而，这些微动参数尚未得到优化。这是因为在以往研究中使用的是大型动物。动物活动导致的骨折碎片间位移给实验数据带来了相当大的系统误差。此外，样本量受时间和成本限制。因此，股骨骨折大鼠可作为研究此问题的良好动物模型，因其具有实验结果高度一致、恢复期短和维护成本低等优点。在微动研究中使用小动物模型面临的挑战包括：1）固定器具有高度特定的刚度；2）固定器重量轻，对动物活动干扰小；3）测量方法具有高精度。本研究旨在通过整合以下几点来解决这一问题：1）具有坚固结构的铝制固定器；2）带有可拆卸部件的模块化实验装置；3）基于视频识别技术的非接触测量模型。我们的初步验证结果证实了用于研究微动对骨愈合影响的外固定装置的可靠性和可重复性。
