A Minnesota company that has become a leader in both medical coatings and drug delivery systems, SurModics, is said to be developing preformed plastic beads layered with antibiotics for use in battlefield hospitals [a company representative declined to comment on the development in conversation with DOTmed news, while trial testing is being deliberated by the FDA]. The beads, infused with specific antibiotics, resemble a pearl necklace, and can be placed inside wounds in the first hours after an injury to slowly release antibiotics into damaged tissues. The 7mm beads purportedly provide up to 72 hours of antibiotic treatment. The SurModics solution is said to eliminate the mixing stage, and standardize the dosing rates for the inserted matrix. SurModics' patented antibiotic beads can be forced into a wound straight from the package, slowing or stopping the spread of infection until the patient can be moved to a more secure operating stage, thereby greatly reducing the number of amputations resulting from infections. If it proves successful on the battlefield, the innovations represented by the SurModics beads may add a new chapter to ER procedures everywhere in the very near future.





A Knee with a Brain

There are times when the best efforts of physicians in the field are not enough to save a limb. That is where the company Otto Bock comes in. The company's work focuses on improving the quality of life for amputees. To do so, it developed the C-Leg Prosthesis System, a replacement limb that puts a microprocessor in the main operating joint to mediate footfall pressure, angle of ascent, speed and balance. The microprocessor feeds back information about the terrain the leg encounters 50 times per minute. The result is a more natural gait and safer, smoother walking and even running. It also enables better coordination between the limbs, so the user can engage in sports and other activities that require syncopated physical movements. This smart limb is going a long way toward getting fallen soldiers literally on their feet. Of course, the technology is likely to be of interest to the civilian population as well.

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