About This Project

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Since the days of Neanderthals, prosthetics have been used to compensate for limb loss. As time wore on, technology became more advanced. So did prosthetics. Materials became lighter and stronger; advances in surgery enabled better amputations; and a surge in electronics has enabled bionic body parts.

Animals have benefited from prosthetic advancement over the years as well. Cats, dogs, sheep, goats, turtles, dolphins and on and on have all been fit with prostheses. However, larger animals such as the horse pose more of a challenge for prosthetic intervention due to their sheer size and often unruly temperament.

I believe that a prosthetic leg attached by insertion into the bone will circumvent many of the problems that face the horse with regards to amputation and prosthetic intervention.

What is the significance of this project?

Every year thousands of horses die due to trauma or disease of the lower limb for which there is no available treatment. Amputation and the successful use of prosthetics are becoming more widely available in small companion animals, but this option remains largely elusive for the horse. Until now, equine amputation and prosthetic development has been in a state of rare and often short-term successes at the expense of well-intentioned owners.

I'm conducting this research to realize a dream of not only saving horses, but helping to develop a technology that will translate across a spectrum of research fields and clinical settings. This project will be the first in a series that will bring the equine industry one step closer to a novel, new and innovative technology that will save lives!

What are the goals of the project?

I will be biomechanically testing custom fabricated titanium PerFitZ implants to see how strong they are in equine cadaver bones. I will gather data such as how the bone/implant construct breaks, where it breaks, if it breaks, how long it took to break and at what force did it break at.

Currently, there is no hard data available about the viability, durability and longevity of prosthetic implants in horses. There needs to be an incremental approach to show the veterinary community how long these implants will last and how strong they are. That is what I aim to do with this study.