Surgical implants happen to be devices or tissues that are placed inside the body, or on the surface, which are meant to replace missing body parts. Some are prosthetics, others provide support to organs, some deliver medications where needed, while others monitor body functions.
For the biotech startup company DeBogy Molecular, it shares how their experimental technology may possibly transform the surface of implants so that bacteria won’t grow on it and cause infections to occur in such procedures as hip and knee replacements.
Many times, people that require repeat surgeries to fix any issues that occur from their hip or knee replacements, infections tend to be the reason behind it. Thankfully, this biotech startup claims that they have the solution, which is basically a way to change the surface of implants so that they will repel bacteria, rather than allow it to grow and thrive.
DeBogy Molecular is creating a technology that they call antimicrobial surface modification, which is designed to kill bacteria that tends to grow on the outside of surgical implants and causes infection. During their early lab research tests in mice, they saw how their technology showed to wipe out what’s called the bacterial biofilm, or the colonies of microorganisms that cover the surface of surgical implants.
CEO of DeBogy Molecular, Wayne Gattinella, shared in a statement where he announced the preliminary lab tests results, saying, “The promise of a new, disruptive technology that can permanently protect the surface of an implantable device from the formation of dangerous bacterial biofilm, without the use of toxic chemicals, coatings or even antibiotics, is truly transformational.”
He added, “DeBogy technology has the potential to save lives and dramatically improve the quality of life for millions of people, young and old.”
Most Healthcare Infections Linked to Surgical Implants
According to the biotech company DeBogy Molecular, every year within the United States, over half of the healthcare-associated infections are caused by infections related to surgical implants.
According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), infections tend to be the culprit in every 2 out of every 5 total knee replacement surgeries that fail. Meanwhile, former research also suggests that around one-third of total hip replacements tend to fail because of infections.
How They Conducted the Test
In order to test the potential of their new technology to prevent the development of bacterial biofilm, scientists put titanium surgical implants in 121 mice. After their surgery, the researchers injected methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) into the operative site without giving mice any antibiotics to help stop infections. After seven days, the mice with implants made from the new technology had ’99.9 percent less bacterial biofilm develop than the mice that had untreated implants.’
Moreover, the amount of bacteria that’s found in the tissue that surrounds the implants was ‘99.8 percent lower in mice that received implants made with the new technology.’ The mice with the treated implants were found to have surrounding tissue that was healthier overall, while also having less inflammation and damage to their connective tissue and blood vessels.
Although the study results are considered preliminary, and the early test results in mice are usually a poor indicator of how any new medical technology will actually work in humans, the study results were still announced by the company. They have yet to be published in a medical journal or reviewed by independent experts.
However, they will be presented at the North American Spine Society (NASS) meeting that will be this October.
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