[Development of an external fixation agent made from Polymers (author's transl)]

With the type of external bone anchorage made from metal and usually employed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the considerable weight of such anchorages and their imperviousness to X-rays are major drawbacks. For this reason, the prototype of an external fixation agent was developed which does not posses these disadvantages. Fibre-reinforced polymeric materials appeared a suitable alternative to metal. Satisfactory strength of the components of the system could be expected provided the anchoring was suitably constructed. External bone anchorage with polymer materials is easy to manipulate, transparent to X-rays, sterilisable, and possesses dimenisonal stability to head. The weight reduction amounts to as much as 70%. A multitude of variants can be mounted from just four system components. Economic manufacture is possible through material-specific processing (injection moulding, machining).