This innovative solution promises to alleviate the long-term suffering of bone-fractured patients caused by traditional metal implants

An age-old adage "necessity is the mother of invention"still holds now. This aforementioned adage is duly proven by the fact that Nitin Pratap Varma Senior Scientist and highly esteemed research scholar from Dhanbad-based IIT-ISM and currently working as Senior Scientist for Shahjahanpur( UP) based company G Surgiwear Limited, felt the necessity of resorbable implant that could be fully absorbed in the bodies of accident victims as part of treating their fractured bones. Understanding this need of the hour, Varma held meetings with members--scientists of his research team. Many brainstorming sessions with experiments  ensued. Eventually, the team led by Varma zeroed in on the final product and invented the "magnesium implant" for the first time in the world. Shedding light on factual aspects of his invention, Varma says: "For many years, I have been observing the predicaments and troubles being suffered by bone-fractured patients due to inserted implants comprising plates and screws made up of stainless steel and titanium metals Since those plates and screws remained embedded in the body, patients had to undergo painful sufferings for a long period. To remove those metallic plates from the body, the patients have to undergo surgery which is physically tormenting as patients have to bear the brunt of risk aspects of surgery.

And to add insult to injury, patients bear the huge expenses of surgery.Keeping in mind the troubles faced by patients, Varma convened a series of meetings with his fellow scientists and team members to discuss the use of plates made up of resorbable metals in place of stainless steel--made plates After having a long discussion, we reached to the scientific conclusion that implant of resorbable metals gets fully absorbed in the body within 3-5 years of insertion.

It is no hyperbole on my part if I say it vanishes into the body. Thus through continued research and experiments, we invented and zeroed in on magnesium implant due to its pathbreaking resorbable quality in the human body.

Patients do not feel any physical inconvenience afterwards., Varma explains matter-of-factly. Analysing his bone treatment-related achievement in an in-depth manner, Varma explains that there are three kinds of metals that are resorbable and biologically safe: magnesium, zinc and iron.

Undoubtedly, these metals have their pluses and minuses.Varma and his colleagues have been experimenting with resorbable metals to gain knowledge of their utilities and qualities.

For this very purpose, the team of scientists also visited the Jamshedpur-based National Institute of Metallurgy institution to seek intricate technical knowledge of metals. Expressing optimism over the utility and quality of magnesium implants, Varma avers that the invented product has reached the final stage; since the product has already been implanted in animals for testing its efficacy.

Also, to be well-versed with different clinical parameters related to experimental procedures, the animals have been kept under observation for six months.

Results from animal testing are very encouraging.After successfully experimenting with this product in animals, Varma has plans to test this product in human bodies. For this, he has decided to seek permission from the Drug Controller General of India. Having successfully tested this product in human bodies, it will be put in the public domain, Varma explains.

Eventually, it is no exaggeration to say that the invention of the magnesium implant is slated to bring revolutionary changes in the treatment of bone fractures and other bone diseases. This is more so because as per a research report, scores of scientists are engaged in experimental procedures of implants in laboratories the world over. And in this context, thousands of research papers have been inked and published. But to this date, those scientists have yet to make in-roads to reach the level of realistic utility of implants.

(The writer is a freelancer; views expressed are personal)