Human Health
Minimally Invasive Curved Intramedullary Fixation for the Pelvis
POC014- Project Leaders: Robin Coope, Robert Meek
- Institutions: University of British Columbia (UBC)
- Budget: $234000
- Program/Competition: Proof of Concept
- Genome Centre(s): Genome British Columbia
- Fiscal Year: 2012
- Status: Closed
Open surgical access to the interior surface of the pelvis is invasive and inherently risky due to the concentration of blood vessels and nerves in the area. In response, researchers developed a new method of stabilizing fractures in the pelvic region using faster and less invasive procedure. The concept is called minimally invasive curved intramedullary fixation (MICIF).
This technology was developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia and the BC Cancer Agency and licensed to Intellectual Ventures Canada (IV) who provided co-funding for this project.
The group finalized the implant design, which is now being manufactured for testing towards a Health Canada application for first-in-human trials. In addition, a hammer drill attachment with a repositionable collet was developed and tested.
A substantial market survey of leading orthopedic surgeons concluded this technology is desirable, and most clinicians surveyed would be keen to use it. Since, IV has provided co-funding for a successful CIHR POP II grant (2013) and brought in a Seattle based biomedical engineering team to help drive the commercialization.
