Team 17

Unique Hand Digit Prosthetic Joint Spacer to Treat Osteomyelitis

Team Members: Jeremy Atkinson, Cesar Carreto, Priscilla Han & Vishnu Karthigeyan

Team Mentors: Brent Vernon, PhD - SBHSE
George Mastorakos - Mayo Clinic School of Medicine (M4)

YouTube Link: View the video link below before joining the zoom meeting

Zoom Link: https://asu.zoom.us/j/89130447559

Abstract

Complicated bone infections like osteomyelitis affect up to 200,000 people in the U.S. every year, and they specifically affect the bones in the hand digits for 50,000 people every year. Many factors are associated with an increased risk of contracting an infection, including common diseases like diabetes. Currently, physicians who treat patients with osteomyelitis in their hand use a two-stage surgical process and a temporary antibiotic joint spacer to remove the infections, but more often than not, an amputation of the hand digit is the ultimate result. Many of the current solutions are not reliable, and they cost a large amount of money and resources. Joined Efforts is creating a permanent joint spacer that can be inserted into the hand digit in a single surgery. This spacer will provide structural support in the hand, and it will continue to elute antibiotics in the infectious area after the surgery. The most important specifications for the device include its sturdiness and lightweight properties, as well as its permanence and stability during antibiotic elution. The spacer will primarily utilize bone cement for its mechanical properties and known biocompatibility, but the spacer is specifically adapted to address the biomechanical forces of the hand digits and the biotransport concerns of the antibiotics. This unique spacer will provide clinical value by efficiently removing infections while avoiding amputations, and it will provide cost value by allowing surgeons to shift from two-phase surgeries to single-phase surgeries that require less in-house resources.