The new technique could apparently improve of delivery of stem cell therapies in cases of non-healing fractures.
“People come to me after suffering for six months or more with a non-healing bone fracture, often after multiple surgeries, infections and hospitalizations,” said Mark Lee, MD, associate professor of orthopedic surgery and the principal investigator of the trial. “Stem cell therapy for these patients can be miraculous, and it is exciting to explore an important new way to improve on its delivery.”
The traditional way of obtaining stem cells — particularly, those from the same person who will receive them — requires retrieving them from a patient’s bone marrow, which can be painful, generally needs anesthesia and requires about a week to recover.
The device Dr. Lee and his colleagues are now testing processes the “wastewater” fluid obtained during an orthopedic procedure, which is normally discarded.
The filter, which usually captures the patient’s bone and bone marrow for use in a bone graft or fusion, also gathers mesenchymal stem cells as well as hematopoietic and endothelial progenitor cells.
This was a known phenomenon; however, so was the fact that this byproduct was too diluted by water to be useful.
Now, working with a device created by SynGen, a Sacramento, Calif-based biotech company, the Davis team can take the wastewater and spin it down to isolate the stem cells.
About the size of a standard coffee maker, the device will be used in the operating room to quickly produce a concentration of stem cells that can be administered to a patient’s non-union fracture during a single surgery.
“The device’s small size and rapid capabilities allow autologous stem cell transplantation to take place during a single operation in the operating room rather than requiring two procedures separated over a period of weeks,” said Dr. Lee. “This is a dramatic difference that promises to make a real impact on wound healing and patient recovery.”
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