The project of Academician the G. A. Ilizarov National Medical Research Center for Traumatology and Orthopedics aims at restoring the functions of the hand with partial or complete loss of fingers thanks to an original surgical technology and implantable structures.
‘The task of the project is to restore the functions of the hand. We are talking about implantable technologies, the so-called lifelong technologies, which require reduced time to treat patients,’ says Evgeny Ovchinnikov, Deputy Director for Research at the Ilizarov Center.
Thanks to its implementation, up to 20 percent of the Russian market for reconstructive surgery and implantation can be occupied by the Ural Interregional Scientific and Educational Center.
One of the partners in the project is the Sensor enterprise, which is working on engineering and technologies underlying particular products.
‘We have put forward the principle of single-stage guided osseointegration to restore amputated limbs, that is, an implant is inserted, it connects to the bone, and the doctor does not do any manipulations after. What makes our devices innovative is their design, the methods of their fixation, and reduced rehabilitation time for patients,’ says Viktor Kuznetsov, Doctor of Engineering, head of the Laboratory for Scientific Research of Biomechanics and Engineering at the Ilizarov Center. The Ilizarov Center cooperates with Ural Federal University, which is laying the foundations for using new alloys and materials.
Medical technology and medical devices need further maintenance. With a view to it, Kurgan State University, which is also a partner in the project, trains engineers to service and maintain the equipment. Also, the university offers the Organization and Management of Science-Intensive Industries master's program (with a focus on medical equipment and apparatuses). The program focuses on two fields at a time, i.e. medicine and technologically advanced production.