new sort of synthetic knee joint made fully from polymer might enhance the standard of life of individuals with osteoarthritis who want surgical procedure, scientists have mentioned.

The polymer prosthesis, developed by medical expertise firm Invibio, is light-weight and, not like typical knee joints, doesn't include steel.

Researchers on the University of Leeds are conducting pre-clinical trials to check this prosthetic knee expertise, known as PEEK-OPTIMA, in hope it could profit individuals who want complete knee substitute on account of situations similar to osteoarthritis.

Professor Louise Jennings, of the University of Leeds’ School of Mechanical Engineering, who's main the workforce, mentioned: “This technology has the potential to improve clinical outcome and quality of life for patients with osteoarthritis.

“Overall, this could make a positive societal impact and may lead to other socio-economic benefits such as improved patient satisfaction, higher quality of life, and capacity to work.”

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Osteoarthritis is a situation that causes joints to turn into painful and stiff.

It is the most typical sort of arthritis within the UK – an estimated 8.75 million individuals aged over 45 years have sought remedy for the situation.

While osteoarthritis may be mitigated by way of bodily remedy, train, and assistive units similar to braces or canes, extreme instances typically require surgical interventions.

The commonest motive for knee substitute surgical procedure is osteoarthritis, with greater than 70,000 knee replacements carried out in England and Wales every year.

Conventional knee substitute joints include steel, often cobalt chrome, alongside a plastic insert.

These varieties of joints also can trigger issues for the ten% to fifteen% of people who find themselves delicate to the metals.

According to the researchers, steel sensitivity can result in the underlying bone remodelling itself in methods that may trigger ache to the sufferers.

Patients are sometimes left saying their new joints merely don't really feel like a pure knee, the workforce mentioned.

The analysis, funded by a grant value practically £1.7 million from the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, will examine alternative routes to repair the knee substitute into bone, and the way the pure tissue of the knee cap interacts with the polymer.

Prof Jennings mentioned: “It is hoped that the knee replacement technology will be a more suitable treatment option for patients with late- and end-stage osteoarthritis, as an all-polymer knee replacement would be beneficial for patients who are sensitive to metal, and it is more similar to the weight of the natural joint.”

Dr John Devine, managing director at Invibio, mentioned: “Our PEEK-OPTIMA femoral knee component is already showing encouraging results in implanted patients during trials and we are interested to see if we can further improve patient experience.”