The BioSa project was launched, an initiative that was developed to advance the recovery of orthopedic patients when a substantial part of the bone is missing.
This technological innovation will also assist to reduce expenditure in the medical sector. Professor Joseph Buhagiar from the University of Malta led this project in collaboration with Mater Dei Hospital. BioSa was funded by the R&I Fusion Program, which is administered by the Maltese Council for Science and Technology (MCST) with a fund of around €200,000.
The healing process for patients who have missing bones involves making some form of structure known as a scaffold to serve as support for the lack of bone. The aim of this initiative is to solve several problems that arise during the bone filling process by creating the scaffold with a controllable and patient-specific level of biodegradability.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research and Innovation Keith Azzopardi Tanti stressed the importance of such projects for the development of our country because in this way it is ensured that as a nation we make sustainable use of resources through of research and innovation. These projects also facilitate the profession of various individuals in the medical sector and also improve the quality of the medical service. “It is gratifying for me to see initiatives like this of BioSa being successful, because through research and innovation we can improve the lives of patients and also the operation of professionals in the field of medicine, ” said the Parliamentary Secretary Azzopardi Tanti.
The Executive Chairman of the Maltese Council for Science and Technology Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando said that, “With a Maltese multidisciplinary team made up of engineers and medical professionals, a biodegradable bone framework has been developed that will help not only in the recovery of orthopedic patients, but it will also translate into savings of hundreds of euros for the public health industry. The MCST, through the Fusion program, will continue to work to provide the necessary financial assistance to researchers from both the private and public sectors, in order to succeed.”
Present for this activity was Professor Joseph Buhagiar who claimed that, “The MCST funding contributed to the development of Malta’s future researchers.” Such investments are fundamental for our country to strengthen new opportunities both for researchers who are just finishing their studies and for those already established. New researches and innovations also create solutions to the challenges we are constantly facing around us.
