In a joint venture with Plastics One Inc., Triad Semiconductor, Virginia Tech and Carilion Biomedical Institute has created a device that could change how doctors perform medical procedures for broken bones. The unveiling of the Magnetic Targeting Device took place at Plastics One Inc. on February 09, 2004.

The medical procedure to repair broken thigh bones is long and tedious. First, doctors thread a metal pin through the segments of the fractured bone, typically starting at the hip bone sliding the pin down the leg. The Doctors then drill screw holes, but there's a catch. The screw holes must line up with the pre-drilled screw holes in the metal pin already inserted in the leg. Both sets of screw holes must line up with one another precisely; it's this part of the procedure that takes the longest and is the reason the new device was created.

Doctors use large x-ray machines and a hand held drill for this stage of the surgery. It is very tedious and exposes the patient and the doctor to large doses of radiation from the x-ray machines during the course of the procedure. The doctor takes x-rays of the leg and the pin to determine the exact location of the pin holes. As you can imagine, lining up a hand held drill with the pre-drilled screw holes using only a live x-ray as a guide, can take a lot of time.

The Magnetic Targeting device is a hand held device that locates the screw holes and will eliminate the need for the x-ray machines. Teaming up with companies such as Triad Semiconductor, Virginia Tech and Plastics One Inc., this break-through in technology was created. Each company contributed their strengths to the design of the apparatus.

Although the device is still in the prototype stage, it's just an example of the amazing things that are happening in the medical field and only a small sample of the impressive innovative capabilities of Plastics One Inc. The Carilion Biomedical Institute continues to communicate with several medical device manufacturers to explore the potential to offer a commercial design.