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http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/BHU-doctor-gets-national-patent-for-hip-bone-fracture-surgery/293999/

Express news service

Posted online: Tuesday, April 08, 2008 at 03:37:10
Varanasi, April 7 Anil Kumar Rai, a senior orthopedic surgeon from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), who developed and designed “Bi-Centric Hip Device” to offer flawless surgical cure to patients of Hip Bone fracture, has been awarded a national patent 216800(125/Del/1999) for the invention on March 24.

BHU Vice-Chancellor Panjab Singh named the device as ‘BHU Hip Device’ on Monday. Rai, a Reader at Department of orthopedics in the Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS-BHU), has worked at different hospitals in the UK before joining BHU. He developed the Hip Device after 10 years of hard work, along with Dr A Bhattacharya and M D Tyagi — from the Institute of Technology.

“Patients of intra-capsular fracture neck femur (hip bone fracture), especially aged between 60 to 80 years, have either been treated by unipolar prosthesis or THR. In at least 50 per cent of such cases, these treatments do not deliver desired results,” Rai told mediapersons on Monday. The purely indigenous device will be a boon for patients of hip bone (neck femur)

fracture. According to sources, unipolar arthoplasty is a treatment best suited for those aged above 80 and has the life expectancy of less than two years.

THR on other hand, is an expensive surgery where the cost varies between Rs 1.5 to 1.8 lakh. “Even a successful THR cannot enable people to sit as well as squat with equal élan, which is the most common problem here,” said Rai.

In such a scenario, the best possible surgical treatment for neck femur fracture is bipolar prosthesis. Owing to unavailability of suitable bipolar prosthesis, patients in India have either relied on unipolar option or THR, with the latter performed by surgeons specialized in THR at a well-equipped hospital.

Over two decades ago, one Dr Talwarkar had designed a bipolar prosthesis, but could not gain much popularity in the country due to technical flaws, such as large head, diameter, very high collar angle and lack of positive eccentricity. ‘BHU Hip Device’ is the most economical treatment of hip bone fractures which involves a cost of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 (Rs 5,000 cost of device plus Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 as cost of surgery), which is 22 times less in terms of cost-life benefit even in worst case condition as compared to THR,” Rai said. He added that the device besides being best suitable for patients between 60 and 80 years and young patients, who cannot afford expensive THR, also entails early post operative recovery, besides facilitating sitting and squatting.

Besides, the novel device can be implanted without any specialised orthopedic surgical skills or equipments and creates much less wear of human ball-socket hip joint.

Since 2000, the device has been successfully implanted in over 300 patients aged between 23 and 84 at BHU hospital and hospitals of Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Faizabad, Sultanpur, Azamgarh and Meerut and five year follow up of the patients suggests that the implanted device made from ultra-high molecular weight polythene can successfully function for more than 14 years. “The Molecular design of the device facilitates very economical (Rs 2,500) re-implant after its useful period is over”, explained Rai, who now aspires to get a global patent for the device, being produced by a Gujarat based company.