Double Drive Medical Screwdriver to Speed Up Screw Placements

The Kobalt Double Drive ratcheting screwdriver turned out to be popular with Christmas time gift shoppers last year. The device allows its user to crank the attached tool in a single direction even when the handle is turned both clockwise and counterclockwise.

Now the same technology is about to be introduced to the medical market via Double Drive Medical, a company founded to translate the mechanics of the screwdriver to the medical world. MedGadget

SLIC app is a great, free tool for surgeons who evaluate cervical spine injuries

In trauma, cervical spine injuries, which can be associated with significant morbidity, are a major concern. For anyone that deals with evaluation of cervical spine injuries, this review should be helpful to you.
This app is a very specific calculator that helps guide you through the SLIC classification system and apply it to your own patients. And it is, well…slick. iMedicalApps

Recent Military/Trauma related Ortho articles via PubMed

1. The Effects of Clopidogrel (Plavix) and Other Oral Anticoagulants on Early Hip Fracture Surgery. Collinge CA, Kelly KC, Little B, Weaver T, Schuster RD. J Orthop Trauma. 2012 Mar 21. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22441640

2. Isolated Tarsal Navicular Fracture Dislocation: A Case Report. Mathesul A Dr, Chouhan VK, Sonawane DV. Foot Ankle Spec. 2012 Mar 21. [Epub ahead of print]

PMID: 22441500

3. Should post-traumatic thoracolumbar Frankel A paraplegia be operated as an emergency? Report of three cases and review of the literature. Launay O, Charles YP, Steib JP. Orthop Traumatol Surg Res. 2012 Mar 20. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22441106

4. Proximal and distal contributions to lower extremity injury: A review of the literature. Chuter VH, Janse de Jonge XA. Gait Posture. 2012 Mar 20. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22440758

5. The combat experience of military surgical assets in Iraq and Afghanistan: a historical review. Schoenfeld AJ. Am J Surg. 2012 Mar 20. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22440274

6. Arthroscopic Management of C3 Tibial Plafond Fractures: A Technical Guide.

Hammond AW, Crist BD. J Foot Ankle Surg. 2012 Mar 21. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22439986

7. Percutaneous locking plates for fractures of the distal tibia: our experience and a review of the literature. Ahmad MA, Sivaraman A, Zia A, Rai A, Patel AD. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2012 Feb;72(2):E81-7. PMID: 22439240

8. Scaphoid fracture epidemiology. Duckworth AD, Jenkins PJ, Aitken SA, Clement ND, Court-Brown CM, McQueen MM. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2012 Feb;72(2):E41-5. PMID: 22439232

9. Comparative functional outcome of AO/OTA type C distal humerus fractures: open injuries do worse than closed fractures. Min W, Ding BC, Tejwani NC. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2012 Feb;72(2):E27-32.

PMID: 22439231

10. Coracoid fractures: therapeutic strategy and surgical outcomes. Ogawa K, Matsumura N, Ikegami H. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2012 Feb;72(2):E20-6. PMID: 22439230

11. The floating shoulder—-clinical and radiological results after intramedullary stabilization of the clavicle in cases with minor displacement of the scapular neck fracture. Izadpanah K, Jaeger M, Maier D, Kubosch D, Hammer TO, Südkamp NP. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2012 Feb;72(2):E8-13. PMID: 22439229

12. Impact of isolated acetabular and lower extremity fractures on long-term outcome. Pfeifer R, Zelle BA, Kobbe P, Knobe M, Garrison RL, Ohm S, Sittaro NA, Probst C, Pape HC. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2012 Feb;72(2):467-72. PMID: 22439211

13. Exposure of the sciatic nerve in the gluteal region without sectioning the gluteus maximus: Analysis of a series of 18 cases. Socolovsky M, Masi GD. Surg Neurol Int. 2012;3:15. Epub 2012 Feb 15. PMID: 22439106

14. Problems, Tricks, and Pearls in Intramedullary Nailing of Proximal Third Tibial Fractures.  Liporace FA, Stadler CM, Yoon RS. J Orthop Trauma. 2012 Mar 20. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22437426

15. Lag Screw Fixation of Medial Malleolar Fractures: A Biomechanical, Radiographic, and Clinical Comparison of Unicortical Partially Threaded Lag Screws and Bicortical Fully Threaded Lag Screws. Ricci WM, Tornetta P, Borrelli J Jr. J Orthop Trauma. 2012 Mar 20. [Epub ahead of print]  PMID: 22437423

16. Fate of Combat Nerve Injury. Beltran MJ, Burns TC, Eckel TT, Potter BK, Wenke JC, Hsu JR; the Skeletal Trauma Research Consortium (STReC). J Orthop Trauma. 2012 Mar 20. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22437422

17. Modern military surgery: Lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan. Brown KV, Guthrie HC, Ramasamy A, Kendrew JM, Clasper J. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2012 Apr;94(4):536-43.  PMID: 22434472 Free Article

18. Nerve injuries sustained during warfare: Part I - Epidemiology. Birch R, Misra P, Stewart MP, Eardley WG, Ramasamy A, Brown K, Shenoy R, Anand P, Clasper J, Dunn R, Etherington J. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2012 Apr;94(4):523-8. PMID: 22434470 Free Article

19. The early management of patients with multiple injuries: An evidence-based, practical guide for the orthopaedic surgeon. Moran CG, Forward DP. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2012 Apr;94(4):446-53. PMID: 22434457 Free Article

20. Local delivery of nitric oxide: Targeted delivery of therapeutics to bone and connective tissues. Nichols SP, Storm WL, Koh A, Schoenfisch MH. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2012 Mar 10. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22433782

21. Management of distal radius fractures in emergency departments in England and Wales. Sprot H, Metcalfe A, Odutola A, Palan J, White S. Emerg Med J. 2012 Mar 20. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22433589

22. The use of the s-quattro dynamic external fixator for the treatment of intra-articular phalangeal fractures: a review of the literature. Bhamra JS, Khan WS, Pastides P. Open Orthop J. 2012;6:54-9. Epub 2012 Feb 23. PMID: 22431950 Free PMC Article

23. Management of extensor tendon injuries. Griffin M, Hindocha S, Jordan D, Saleh M, Khan W. Open Orthop J. 2012;6:36-42. Epub 2012 Feb 23. PMID: 22431949 Free PMC Article

24. An overview of the management of flexor tendon injuries. Griffin M, Hindocha S, Jordan D, Saleh M, Khan W. Open Orthop J. 2012;6:28-35. Epub 2012 Feb 23. PMID: 22431948 Free PMC Article

25. A multicentre case series of tibia fractures treated with the Expert Tibia Nail (ETN). Attal R, Hansen M, Kirjavainen M, Bail H, Hammer TO, Rosenberger R, Höntzsch D, Rommens PM. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2012 Mar 20. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22431141
26. Development and Validation of the New International Classification for Scapula Fractures. Harvey E, Audigé L, Herscovici D Jr, Agel J, Madsen JE, Babst R, Nork S, Kellam J. J Orthop Trauma. 2012 Mar 16. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22430519

27.  Reconstruction of the thumb tip using palmar neurovascular flaps. Harenberg PS, Jakubietz RG, Jakubietz MG, Schmidt K, Meffert RH. Oper Orthop Traumatol. 2012 Mar 21. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22430376

28. Research in higher surgical training: which rotation? O'Neill BJ, O'heireamhoin S, Byrne AM, O'Flanagan SJ, Keogh P, Kenny PJ. Ir J Med Sci. 2012 Mar 20. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22430069

First sterile iPad sleeve for operating room now available, exclusive hands-on review

EchoMedical has partnered with Protek Medical devices to bring to market a disposable sterile iPad sleeve for use in the operating room. iMedicalApps

Gait analysis accuracy: Android app comparable to standard accelerometer methodology

Smartphones are becoming more ubiquitous and many have a built in tri-axial accelerometer, a sensor that measures change in speed in multiple directions. These smartphone accelerometers can be used to assess gait patterns, or walking patterns, an important evaluation in many neurologic or musculoskeletal disorders. However, the reliability and validity of using smartphones to assess gait patterns is not yet fully established evaluated. In Japan, a team of registered physical therapists and other physicians performed a study to do just that. iMedicalapps

Navy (not Medical) Related: Materials inspired by Mother Nature: A 1-pound boat that could float 1,000 pounds

Combining the secrets that enable water striders to walk on water and give wood its lightness and great strength has yielded an amazing new material so buoyant that, in everyday terms, a boat made from 1 pound of the substance could carry five kitchen refrigerators, about 1,000 pounds. PhysOrg.com

Skull resconstruction immediately following traumatic brain injury worsens brain damage

Immediate skull reconstruction following trauma that penetrates or creates an indentation in the skull can aggravate brain damage inflicted by the initial injury, a study by a University of South Florida research team reports.  Using a rat model for moderate and severe traumatic brain injury, the researchers also showed that a delay of just two days in the surgical repair of skull defects resulted in significantly less brain swelling and damage.

The study was published March 16, 2012 in the online journal PloS ONE. University of South Florida

Runner's high motivated the evolution of exercise

In the last century something unexpected happened: humans became sedentary. We traded in our active lifestyles for a more immobile existence. But these were not the conditions under which we evolved. David Raichlen from the University of Arizona, USA, explains that our hunter-gatherer predecessors were long-distance endurance athletes. 'Aerobic activity has played a role in the evolution of lots of different systems in the human body, which may explain why aerobic exercise seems to be so good for us', says Raichlen. However, he points out that testing the hypothesis that we evolved for high-endurance performance is problematic, because most other mammalian endurance athletes are quadrupedal. 'So we got interested in the brain as a way to look at whether evolution generated exercise behaviours in humans through motivation pathways', says Raichlen. Eurekalert!

New MRI Technique Visualizes Phosphorus, Opens Potential for Hard Tissue Imaging

The image here shows the interior

spongy bone of a rabbit femoral head,

or the "ball" of the rabbit's hip bone.

Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) relies on aligning the magnetization of hydrogen atoms in a study sample, which makes it an excellent tool for visualizing water-rich materials like soft tissues and organs.

Yet MRI is not fundamentally limited to focusing on hydrogen atoms, and scientists at Yale have developed a new approach that allows them to visualize phosphorus, opening a way to look into hard tissues like bone.  The imaging technology may take some time finding use in clinical practice though, because the process creates too much heat for live tissue to survive.  We’re speculating that perhaps it may instead serve as a safer option over therapeutic radiation. MedGadget