Descripción del proyecto
Un novedoso implante para la artritis de pequeñas articulaciones
La prevalencia de la artritis de pequeñas articulaciones en las manos y los pies está aumentando debido al envejecimiento de la población. Por otra parte, los adultos jóvenes también se están volviendo más vulnerables a la artritis de las articulaciones de los dedos debido al uso prolongado de ordenadores y otros dispositivos electrónicos. Las articulaciones artificiales actualmente disponibles son invasivas, sacrifican tejido y no restauran la cinemática natural. Dado que uno de los objetivos de la sociedad moderna es la vida independiente durante el envejecimiento, se necesitan nuevos métodos que permitan tratar de forma fiable la artritis articular. El proyecto financiado con fondos europeos APRICOT propone un implante avanzado y autolubricado que es mínimamente invasivo, adecuado para cualquier grupo de edad y que preserva la práctica totalidad del hueso y los tejidos blandos. El proyecto será una prueba de concepto que apoyará el desarrollo de un tratamiento revolucionario para la artritis de pequeñas articulaciones.
Objetivo
Small joint arthritis presents a large societal burden throughout Europe. The largest pan-European study on osteoarthritis (OA) of the hand observed an average incidence of 16.3%. An ageing population is experiencing OA due to increased levels of obesity, and due to people remaining active later in life, imposing long term loading on their joints. The rise of technology has also increased the incidence of finger joint arthritis in young adults as a result of using electronic hand held devices. People need to be independent later in life and new solutions are required, particularly for small joints, where success rates of artificial joints are very low (revision rates of up to 40% have been reported for finger prostheses). This is because the implants are invasive, sacrifice large amounts of tissue, and most critically, they do not restore the original kinematics of the joint, leading to pain and discomfort due to unnatural loading of the tissues. We aim to develop APRICOT, a novel, extremely thin, self-lubricating compliant implant that is placed between the articulating surfaces of the affected joint. It is minimally invasive, does not remove healthy bone, is suitable for patients of all ages, and does not require the use of general anaesthetics. Successful proof of this radical concept will deliver a revolutionary means of treating small joint arthritis and contribute positively to society as a whole by reducing the burden of pain for millions of sufferers, and by empowering individuals to re-integrate with society with confidence. Small joint reconstruction is predicted to experience the fastest growth globally due to the number of emerging markets and the ageing population. The APRICOT concept therefore represents an opportunity for Europe to penetrate the orthopaedic market and gain a competitive advantage with a game changing innovative device.
Ámbito científico
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Convocatoria de propuestas
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoriaConvocatoria de subcontratación
H2020-FETOPEN-2018-2019-2020-01
Régimen de financiación
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinador
SO17 1BJ Southampton
Reino Unido