Fractures

Healthcare workers have urged for a greater duty of care with older adults who start taking common blood pressure medicines, with a study highlighting that they're more than twice as likely to experience fall-related fractures after starting treatment.

More than 300,000 Americans aged 65 and older are hospitalized for hip fractures each year. But researchers have found that even tiny lifestyle changes can boost bone strength to a level that greatly reduces the incidence of these serious fractures.

A new X-ray scanner adds color and a third dimension, creating high resolution, cutaway 3D models that can diagnose bone fractures and monitor healing. A feasibility study of the machine has now been conducted, with a larger trial set to begin soon.

​A team of researchers from Purdue University is developing an injectable drug designed to home in on a bone fracture and accelerate the healing process. A commercial startup called Novosteo has been founded to speed the research through its preclinical phases and into human trials.

A new material known as "fracture putty" could be used to help broken bones heal much more quickly than is currently possible.

Bioengineers are attempting to emulate a glue found in the sandcastle worm to help repair broken bones in humans.