How can implantable sensors help patients during their recovery? This is what a recent study published in npj Regenerative Medicine hopes to address as a team of researchers led by the University of Oregon investigated the use of implantable strain sensors to aid bone healing during rehabilitation from bone defect injuries. This study holds the potential to help provide patients with improved options regarding bone defect injuries while significantly reducing their rehabilitation time.
When it comes to rehabilitation, patients and doctors have always tried to find a middle-ground regarding the amount of strain needed to achieve the most desired outcomes, commonly called the “Goldilocks” principle. Therefore, this new study developed implantable sensors designed to monitor bone healing and determine if resistance training is a sufficient rehabilitation tool for patients. The researchers conducted an 8-week trial with laboratory rats split into three groups: resistance-trained, sedentary (inactive), and non-resistance.
In the end, the researchers found that while all three groups exhibited bone healing after the trial, the resistance-trained rats not only exhibited early signs of bone healing, but also exhibited increased tissue density, as well.
“Our data support early resistance rehabilitation as a promising treatment to increase bone formation, bone healing strength, and promote full restoration of mechanical properties to pre-injury levels,” said Dr. Bob Guldberg, who is the DeArmond Executive Director of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact and Vice President of the University of Oregon and a co-author on the study.
Image of study co-author, Dr. Bob Guldberg, and study lead author, Kylie Williams, working in the lab for the study. (Credit: University of Oregon)
Going forward, the researchers aspire to investigate varying levels of resistance, as the rats examined for tis study all experienced the same levels of resistance throughout the trial. The long-term goal is to use these sensors for human patients, thus allowing for personalized treatment plans based on the sensors’ outputs.
How will implantable strain sensors contribute to patient rehabilitation in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: npj Regenerative Medicine, EurekAlert!