Leeds bioengineer aims to produce longer-lasting knee replacement
A leading Leeds bioengineer is hoping to produce a longer-lasting knee replacement aimed younger people.
More than 30,000 knee replacement operations are carried out in the UK - with more and more carried out on people under the age of 60. But most wear out after about ten years, which means that further, often less satisfactory surgery is then needed.
Now Professor John Fisher of the University of Leeds' department of mechanical engineering has been awarded a year-long grant of £34,761 by medical research charity the Arthritis Research Campaign to improve the design of artificial knee replacements for younger patients.
This will enable orthopaedic surgeons to choose more appropriate types of knee replacements for younger patients which will last longer.
"While knee prostheses currently show good success rates up to ten years, there remains concerns about long-term performances in younger, more active patients, who need the new joint to last longer," explained Professor Fisher. "In particular, wear of the joint, the generation and accumulation in the tissues over time of micron-size particles can lead to the joint become loosened."
Knee joints are currently designed and tested under standard conditions that replicate the forces and motions of the natural knee. But recent studies have shown that there are actually considerable differences between artificial and natural knee joints in certain types of motion. Professor Fisher and his team plan to investigate the wear of knee prostheses in laboratory simulators by simulating these particular types of motion.
Another Leeds medic, Dr Andrew Brown, at the university's Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Research Unit, has been awarded an educational research fellowship of £88,271 from the Arthritis Research Campaign to develop a standardised programme of education for rheumatologists in the technique of muscular skeletal ultrasonography.
Ultrasound examination of joints and soft tissues is becoming increasing common at part of the diagnosis and management of a wide range of rheumatic conditions. Although rheumatologists rather than radiologists perform these examinations, offering a quicker service, there are currently no recognised guidelines to assess their competency, thus increasing the likelihood of misdiagnosis.
