57 A New Way to Grow Bone

Overview

This TED talk involved a discussion on a new way to generate bone growth, which can then be removed in order to be used elsewhere in the body in bone grafts. Normal bone grafts are harvested from the iliac crest, which can lead to poor regrowth and pain even after the graft surgery. With this technology, saline solution is injected between the outer layer of bone, known as the periosteum, which triggers the bone to create growth. This new growth can then easily be removed in order to be used as a graft, leaving the original bone fairly undisturbed, improving treatment and reducing pain at the donor and graft site.

This talk was given at TEDGlobal in June 2013

Technological Advancements

Cartilage targeted GH treatment injection for promoting longitudinal bone growth

This advancement is focused towards children with GH deficiency where researches “developed a cartilage-targeting single-chain human antibody fragment (CaAb) aiming to deliver therapeutic molecules to the growth plate, thereby increasing treatment efficacy while minimizing adverse effects on other tissues”.

Utilization of PLLA and titanium distractors to induce periosteum osteogenesis

PLLA implanted device showed more bone growth compared to a titanium device, although both were effective in inducing bone growth.

In Vivo Bone Tissue Engineering Strategies: Advances and Prospects

The above paper explores the more recent, advanced strategies for inducing bone growth underneath the periosteum, including bioceramic, bioglass, metallic, and composite scaffolds. These methods improve the biocompatibility, and are less invasive than previous strategies, and create minimal morbidity at donor and transplant sites.

Current commercial availability and market restrictions

These polymer based gels are currently in the market but in depth clinical applications of the specific procedures mentioned in the TED talk have yet to be commercialized. The gel application for the specific procedures is still being researched along with other gels that could produce similar results in bone growth.

Polymer Information

In the original research of this TEDTalk, alginate-based gels are used to induce bone growth underneath the periosteum

Alginate-based Gel Systems

A mechanically stable, fast curing, alginate gel is used as a scaffold for bone generation underneath the periosteum. It exhibits near-elastic behavior and rapid gelation, making it ideal for these applications. Mechanical properties can be adjusted based on the concentrations of alginate and calcium salts. It also induces a very low inflammatory response when used in vivo. The presence of calcium within the matrix would favor osteogenic differentiation of the appropriate progenitor cell population as well.