Monthly Archives: November 2018

A Russian shelter dog becomes first beneficiary of innovative leg implant

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Veterinarians from Novosibirsk have conducted Russia’s first osseointegrable prosthetics of the hind leg in a dog.

Shans the dog lost his leg due to an accident. Especially for him, doctors made an individual prosthesis with a biocoating so it would take root better. Currently, the biocoating developed by Tomsk Polytechnic University scientists is under patent pending.

Veterinarian Sergei Gorshkov tells:

‘An implant was tailor-made for the dog based on a patented prosthetic technology (SerGoFIX by S. Gorshkov, BEST clinic, Novosibirsk, Russia). The technique implies a tailor-made prosthesis with the biocoating which is implanted into the bone and fuses with the tissues ensuring reliable fixation without infection,’ says Sergei Gorshkov, a veterinarian from the BEST pet clinic.

Initially, veterinarians conducted a computed tomography scan of the patient’s hind legs. Then they made a 3D model of the prosthesis and after adjusting and testing all parameters it was 3D printed using selective laser sintering. The main part of the prosthesis is made out of a titanium-nickel-vanadium alloy and, for example, guide systems for resection (removal – ed.) – out of a biocompatible photopolymer.

These are implants with an applied coating developed at Tomsk Polytechnic University.
CREDIT
Tomsk Polytechnic University

As.Prof. Sergey Tverdokhlebov from the TPU Veinberg Research Center says:

When we received the implant, our task was to apply a calcium phosphate coating on it. This is necessary to ensure the integration of the implant with the bone since this material seems to be deceiving the body and making it to perceive as its own. Due to this, the pet has complete freedom of motion after the surgery.

We had developed with our partners an advanced microarc oxidation facility to apply such coatings.

In this case the complexity was in selecting technological modes for the modification of porous 3D products.’

After the implantation, the veterinarians fixed the prosthesis with an external exprosthesis made out of polycaprolactone.

As Novosibirsk veterinarians point out, Shans the dog feels well and uses the prosthesis ‘100% of the time with full support’. Now it is under the patronage of the Varezhka charity fund and waits for a new owner.

NASA’s Aqua satellite catches Tropical Cyclone Gaja’s landfall

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Caught in the act of landfall, Tropical Cyclone Gaja was seen by NASA’s Aqua satellite as it passed overhead and collected temperature information.

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Gaja on Nov. 15 at 3:29 p.m. EDT (2029 UTC) and analyzed the storm in infrared light. Infrared light provides temperature data and that’s important when trying to understand how strong storms can be. The higher the cloud tops, the colder and the stronger they are.

When Aqua passed over the Indian Ocean, Gaja’s center was making landfall along the coast of southeastern India. The AIRS instrument found coldest cloud top temperatures in thunderstorms around the center, where temperatures were as cold as minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 53 degrees Celsius). Storms with cloud top temperatures that cold have the capability to produce heavy rainfall.

At 10 a.m. EST (1500 UTC), the center of Tropical Cyclone Gaja was located near latitude 9.7 degrees north and longitude 75.9 degrees west. Gaja was moving toward west-southwest. Maximum sustained winds are near 46 mph (40 knots/74 kph) with higher gusts.

Gaja was exiting the southwestern coast of India on Nov. 16 at 7 a.m. EST (1200 UTC) and was moving into the Arabian Sea where it is expected to maintain strength and travel in a westerly direction over the next several days.