Unique device that heals bones faster

A unique ultrasound bone-healing device, LIPUS technology, helped heal a railway accident victim’s fractured right leg within four months instead of the usual 18-month period.

A unique ultrasound bone-healing device, LIPUS technology, helped heal a railway accident victim’s fractured right leg within four months instead of the usual 18-month period.

HT Image

Sameer Daruwalla (name changed), fell off a train at Borivli station in May 2009, and suffered multiple fractures on his right leg.

He was rushed to a hospital at Borivli were doctors recommended amputation. However, over the next two years he underwent 13 surgeries at Saifee Hospital at Charni Road to repair the bone.

“The leg was separated and crushed. We had to graft everything from veins, skin, muscles and bones to fill the gap in the bone. After 13 surgeries, the LIPUS technology did the rest of the job,” said Dr Shakir Kapadia, consultant orthopaedic surgeon who conducted the surgery on Daruwalla.

The device is a strap a patient wears on the affected area.

Low-intensity sound waves are emitted from the machine and help the bone cells multiply faster, thus speeding up the healing of fractured bone.

Since August 2010, Daruwalla has been using the LIPUS technology for 20 minutes every day.

“The method could be valuable to maximise the chances of healing in patients whose bones have not been healed despite multiple treatments.

It provides one more tool to the orthopaedic surgeon to improve the treatment of patients with fractures,” Dr Mangal Parihar, orthopaedic surgeon, JJ Hospital at Byculla.