Biomechanical Comparison of Two Fixation Techniques in Unstable Intertrochanteric Hip Fractures: Intramedullary Hip Screw vs. Proximal Femoral Locking Plate

Principle Investigator: Jihui Li
Co-investigators: Alireza Malekzadeh, Cary Schwartzbach, Jeff Schulman, Mark Theiss
Funded by: Synthes Inc.

Unstable intertrochanteric (IT) hip fractures, a common and ever-growing injury in the elderly population, contribute to high health care costs. For these fractures, traditional sliding hip screws have been unsatisfactory in offering stability as intramedullary hip screws (IMHS) have continued to gain favor. Recently, a proximal femoral locking plate (PFLP) was developed for pertrochanteric femoral fractures, but no biomechanical study is available comparing its effectiveness to the IMHS throughout the entire fatigue process.

In this study, a new research scheme combining acoustic emission, motion analysis, and traditional biomechanical methods will be developed to compare the dynamic changes in biomechanical properties of IMHS versus PFLP for unstable IT hip fractures. This will significantly improve our understanding of the mechanism of failure of these fixation methods, help define better usage of each implant, reduce health care costs, and improve the medical care being offered to Virginians treated for unstable IT hip fractures.