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Updated: Nov 24, 2025
Adjustable Stiffness, External Fixator for the Rat Femur Osteotomy and Segmental Bone Defect Models
Published on: October 9, 2014
Design and biomechanical study of slide-poking external fixator for hip fracture
Hua-Biao Chen1, Hong-Bo Wu1, Min Chen1
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Affiliated Huizhou Central People Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University and Guangdong Medical University, Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
Background:
Femoral head collapse and coxa vara lead to internal fixator failure in elderly patients with hip fracture. External fixator application is an optimal choice; however, the existing methods have many disadvantages.
Methods:
Type 31-A1.3 hip fracture models were developed in nine pairs of 1-year-old fresh bovine corpse femur specimens. Each left femur specimen was fixed by a dynamic hip screw (control group), and each right femur specimen was fixed by the slide-poking external fixator (experimental group). Vertical loading and torsion tests were then performed in both groups.
Results:
In the vertical loading experiment, a 1000-N load was implemented. The mean vertical downward displacement of the femoral head in the experimental and control groups was 1.49322 ± 0.116280 and 2.13656 ± 0.166374 mm, respectively. In the torsion experiment, when the torsion was increased to 10.0 Nm, the mean torsion angle in the experimental and control groups was 7.9733° ± 1.65704° and 15.4889° ± 0.73228°, respectively. The slide-poking external fixator was significantly more resistant to compression and rotation than the dynamic hip screw.
Conclusion:
The slide-poking external fixator for hip fractures that was designed and developed in this study can provide sufficient stability to resist compression and rotation in hip fractures.
