Inner support

Australian biomedical engineering students have found new ways to deliver bone growth enhancers directly to broken or weakened bones to promote rapid and guided healing.

Their ongoing research at Queensland University of Technology focuses on biodegradable materials that carry bone growth enhancing substances to encourage bones to heal quickly with much less intervention.

The research is ultimately aimed at repairing fractured bones or replacing bone weakened or lost from osteoporosis, cancer or trauma with minimal intervention and without painful and expensive bone grafts or pins and plates.

Fourth year biomedical engineering student Wayne Shaw developed tiny biodegradable spheres made from polymers that can be loaded with calcium phosphate compounds and placed on bone defects.

‘As the microspheres degrade the calcium phosphate compounds are absorbed and encourage the bone to grow quickly into the area and build new bone,’ Shaw said.

‘The microspheres, which are highly porous, range in size from 50 to 500 microns and have calcium phosphate abundantly deposited throughout the pores, can be used in a variety of ways.