Biomechanical investigation of the Rekrea fixator using a composite tibia model

During the daily activities, the bones are subjected to fractures that can happened due to trauma, falls or excessive strain and the most commonly injured bone is the tibia. In recent decades external fixation has become one of the main techniques for the treatment of numerous bone diseases such as limb lengthening. In this context, the present thesis focused on the Rekrea, a monolateral external fixator for the limb lengthening treatment. This fixator was characterized by three clamps, one fixed to the proximal stump of the tibia and the other two fixed to the distal stump. During each acquisition the number of bone screws, the tightening of the clamp and the thickness of the bone callus placed in the fracture site were changed in order to create the different configurations of the device. The behaviour of the Rekrea fixator was investigated using a Sawbones Tibia model and several mechanical compressive tests have been performed on this system with the aim of assessing which configuration could be the best, in terms of stiffness and Interfragmentary Movement, to enable a successful lengthening treatment outcome.