Biological cements could aid healing of spinal fractures

The team at Queen’s University has been developing the cements for a number of years and is now looking at ways of commercialising the technology with the help of medical device companies.

‘We’re pretty much happy we’ve got a range of cements to work with — now, it’s optimising that delivery phase that’s important,’ said Prof Fraser Buchanan of Queen’s, adding: ‘The next phase of the research is focusing on how you deliver the cement in a controlled way into the spine, so it goes into the places you want it and doesn’t go where you don’t want it.’

So-called ‘burst fractures’ of the vertebrae occur when the spine is subjected to considerable compression stresses, such as those incurred in a car crash or falling from a ladder.

Conventional rehabilitation relies on joining the damaged bone fragments together and stabilising the spine with the use of metal screws, rods and cages — all requiring major surgery that carries great risks.