January 26, 2017.
French surgeons have been using a new material for a few months to reconstruct human bones. But what is it exactly?
A material that has not yet been proven
According to an article by our colleagues from Science and the Future, a new material has recently been used by surgeons to regenerate bones. This is bioglass, a material created by the company Noraker, based in Villeurbanne near Lyon.. It comes in the form of grains, similar to coarse salt, and is said to have extraordinary restorative properties: it helps rebuild bones and disappears from the body after 3 to 6 months.
This material is also used in the United States, but it is not yet widely used because it is expensive. It is indeed 45% silicon, which itself comes from quartz. A box of 16 mg would cost 230 €. To have an idea, Noraker produces only 1 kg per day. Not all surgeons use this material either, because it is not yet very well known and has not yet been sufficiently proven over time.
80 operations since the start of 2015 thanks to bioglass
” We have carried out 80 operations since the start of 2015 », Explained Professor Cédric Barrey, surgeon at the Pierre Wertheimer hospital, in Bron, near Lyon, in the columns of the Figaro. ” The first results are of very good quality. But they ask to be confirmed in time “.
Currently, this technology is used for spine (spine) surgery and dental surgery. And Noraker exports it to many foreign countries: 70% of its production is in fact exported to Turkey, but the company also counts among its customers Egypt, Iran, certain countries in Europe and Latin America. , and recently recorded its first order in Asia, in Taiwan to be precise.
Marine Rondot
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