Reducing infection susceptibility of titanium percutaneous implants: a study of porous and smooth surfaces and mesenchymal stem cell treatments

Update Item Information
Title Reducing infection susceptibility of titanium percutaneous implants: a study of porous and smooth surfaces and mesenchymal stem cell treatments
Publication Type dissertation
School or College College of Engineering
Department Biomedical Engineering
Author Isackson, Dorothyann
Date 2012-05
Description Percutaneous osseointegrated prosthetics are a promising limb prosthetic alternative for amputees. Similar to other percutaneous devices that have permanent residence in host tissue, their success is dependent on an impassable attachment between skin and the device. An incomplete attachment greatly increases risk of infection and subsequent device removal. A common failure mechanism of percutaneous devices is the epidermis migrating internally, called "epidermal downgrowth," creating a pocket between the skin and the device. This pocket serves as an access point for microorganisms, contributing to infection and device failure. Thus, there is a need to improve the skin integration with the percutaneous device such that microbial access and infection is prevented. This first portion of this dissertation work sought to investigate infection vulnerability of porous titanium and smooth titanium percutaneous implants with subcutaneous flanges. In this work, a more relevant small animal model of percutaneous device infection was established. It was demonstrated that porous surfaces significantly decreased risk of infection of percutaneous implants. However, due to epidermal downgrowth in the majority of implants, there was an absence of skin integration with the percutaneous component, thus contributing to increased infection susceptibility and device failure.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Animal models; Histology; Infection; Stem cells; Surface text;ure; Titanium
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Dissertation Name Doctor of Philosophy
Language eng
Rights Management Copyright © Dorthyann Isackson 2012
Format application/pdf
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 9,410,227 bytes
Identifier us-etd3,86137
ARK ark:/87278/s6cc1fdv
Setname ir_etd
ID 194423
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6cc1fdv
Back to Search Results