Medical AMRC helps orthopaedic company launch new solution for sports injuries

The development is the creation of leading surgeons and Innovate Orthopaedics (IO), a new partnership launched to challenge the status quo in the orthopaedic sports medicine market by developing products that directly incorporate the insights and experience sports surgeons have gained in the operating theatre to solve problems.

IO asked the Medical AMRC – part of the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing – to evaluate two new designs it had developed for specialised orthopaedic screws.

The screws are designed for specific surgical procedures, including reconstructing the knee’s anterior cruciate ligament, which can be torn during sports that involve sudden stops and changes in direction, such as football, rugby, tennis, skiing and basketball. Reconstruction is carried out by inserting a piece of healthy tendon in place and securing it to the bone with a screw, over which the bone will grow.

Marcus Crossley, from the Medical AMRC said: “We worked with IO to combine different aspects of their two designs and create one universal design that reduced the force needed to insert the screw while maintaining fixation.”

“The benefits of using the new screw don’t stop there however. It helps the surgeon by engaging more rapidly with the ligament and bone when it is inserted and reduces the fatigue experienced by the surgeon and minimises damage to the replacement ligament.”

Tooling predominantly came from another AMRC partner Sandvik Coromant and the Medical AMRC also helped IO choose Sheffield Precision Medical to carry out trial production runs and develop the complete range of screws.

Medical AMRC www.amrc.co.uk/research/medical