Wuhan Union Hospital Licenses Innovative Adjustable Pelvic Fracture Fixation Plate for RMB 2 Million

Recently, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (hereinafter referred to as "Wuhan Union Hospital") issued an announcement regarding a“Adjustable Pelvic Fracture Fixation Plate”The invention patent, intended to be licensed exclusively,Transaction Price of RMB 2 MillionTransfer toHebei Ruihe Medical Devices Co., Ltd.。

Professor Liu Guohui, the principal inventor of the patent, serves as Deputy Director of the Department of Orthopedics and Director of the Department of Traumatic Orthopedics at Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. He has published more than 360 professional papers in domestic and international journals as a corresponding author (including first-author publications). His research interests include the mechanisms underlying wound healing and fracture repair, as well as the application of biomaterials in trauma repair.

The other party to the transaction, Ruihe Medical, is a “Little Giant” enterprise dedicated to the R&D and manufacturing of multiple series of medical devices. It focuses on frontier areas in the healthcare industry, such as artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and biomaterials, and is committed to the development of innovative medical devices.

Pelvic fractures are severe traumatic injuries, often accompanied by damage to internal organs, the urinary system, and the nervous system. In young individuals, these fractures are typically caused by high-energy trauma, whereas in the elderly, they are more commonly low-energy fractures associated with conditions such as osteoporosis. Treatment strategies depend on the type and severity of the fracture. Stable fractures are generally managed conservatively with physical therapy and pain management, while unstable fractures or cases with severe complications require surgical intervention to restore pelvic stability and repair damaged organs and nerves.

The primary surgical approach for pelvic fractures involves internal fixation using plates or titanium plates to stabilize various fracture patterns.

Among them, some steel plates require bending, while others are larger in size. For certain fixed steel/titanium plates, a support plate is secured between the two segments after bending. The position of this support plate conforms to the bony surface on the dorsal aspect of the acetabulum, providing effective support and simultaneously enhancing the structural strength of the bent steel/titanium plate.

This type of steel plate cannot be used for minimally invasive surgery; instead, open reduction and internal fixation with plates and screws are required. Traditional open surgery can clearly expose the fracture site, but it involves a large surgical field, significant soft tissue damage, prolonged operative time, substantial blood loss, and risk of injury to major blood vessels and nerves.

The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the aforementioned prior art by providing an adjustable fixation plate for pelvic fractures, which is folded into a compact structure prior to insertion and deployed after being introduced into the body through a small incision.The opening angle can be adjusted according to different skeletal morphological requirements. After confirmation, internal fixation with plates and screws is performed to minimize exposure of the fracture site, protect soft tissues, avoid injury to major blood vessels and nerves, reduce the surgical scope and operative time, and decrease blood loss.

The trauma orthopedic implant market is a key segment of the overall orthopedic implant market, primarily encompassing various medical devices and materials used to treat bone injuries resulting from trauma, accidents, and other external causes.

As China’s population ages and sports-related injuries increase, compounded by high-energy trauma from traffic accidents or falls from height, the number of patients with traumatic fractures has risen significantly, leading to an expansion in the market size of traumatic orthopedic implants. Meanwhile, advancements in medical care and improvements in health insurance policies have enabled more patients to access high-quality orthopedic treatment, further driving growth in the traumatic orthopedic implant market.

Trauma orthopedic implants encompass a wide variety of products, which can be categorized into internal fixation systems—such as locked plating systems, conventional plating systems, and intramedullary nail systems—as well as external fixation devices, including plates and screws.

With the continuous advancement of medical technology and rising patient demands, the materials, design, and manufacturing processes of trauma implants are undergoing constant innovation. The application of emerging technologies, such as 3D printing and biodegradable materials, has made orthopedic trauma implants more personalized, precise, and intelligent.

Biodegradable materials represent a significant direction in the development of bone implant materials,In March 2023, the FDA approved RemeOs trauma screws as the first biodegradable metal implant in the United States. Made from a new generation of robust bioabsorbable materials, these screws overcome the drawbacks of traditional metallic and organic polymer materials, such as insufficient strength and high surgical failure rates due to rejection reactions caused by individual variations. This innovation provides patients with a safer and more effective treatment option while reducing the risk of complications.

Among these, zinc alloys and magnesium alloys have garnered significant attention as emerging materials. In September 2024, the absorbable magnesium alloy independently developed by Innoco completed patient enrollment for its clinical trials. This marks the first controllable degradable magnesium alloy product for traumatic orthopedics in China to complete clinical enrollment. It addresses the challenges associated with traditional orthopedic implants, which cannot degrade within the human body, often triggering foreign body reactions that necessitate secondary surgical removal, while also reducing the stress shielding effect. In October, a team led by Associate Professor Wen Peng from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Tsinghua University developed 3D-printed, customized degradable zinc alloy orthopedic implants, offering a new therapeutic approach for bone tissue repair.

3D printing technology has driven the development of personalized implants, effectively reducing the need for revision surgeries and improving rehabilitation outcomes.In October 2024, the first case in China of open reduction and internal fixation for a comminuted distal femoral fracture using a 3D-printed customized plate was successfully performed in Beijing. Compared with traditional surgery, the porous materials introduced by 3D printing can reduce the mismatch in elastic modulus between bone and implant alloys, provide a biomaterial anchoring effect for tissue ingrowth, and offer new treatment options for certain severe orthopedic conditions.

Intelligence is a key development trend in the market for trauma-related orthopedic implants.By integrating intelligent technologies such as sensors and control systems, patients' physiological conditions can be monitored in real time, providing physicians with more accurate diagnostic and treatment plans. For instance, in July 2024, Naton Medical launched a Spine & Trauma Navigation System that enables virtual visualization of patients' bony structures and surgical instruments. By displaying the real-time spatial relationship between surgical instruments and patients' bony structures, the system facilitates spine and trauma surgeries with smaller incisions, reduced blood loss, and lower intraoperative X-ray radiation exposure.

Supported and driven by national policies, trauma products account for the largest share of China’s orthopedic implant market and have the highest localization rate. Leading domestic companies include Double Medical, Chunli Medical, Weigao Orthopaedics, and Tianjin Zhengda. It is precisely through the continuous enhancement of R&D capabilities and product quality by domestic manufacturers of trauma-related orthopedic implants that they have gradually achieved substitution of imported products.