Mechanical testing data

Almost all of the currently available fracture fixation devices for metaphyseal fragility fractures are made of hard metals,<br>which carry a high risk of implant-related complications such as implant cutout in severely osteoporotic patients. We<br>developed a novel fracture fixation technique (intramedullary-fixation with biodegradable materials; IM-BM) for severely weakened long bones using three different non-metallic biomaterials, a poly( L -lactide) (PLLA) woven tube, a nonwoven polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) fiber mat, and an injectable calcium phosphate cement (CPC). The purpose of this work was to evaluate the feasibility of IM-BM with mechanical testing as well as with an animal experiment. To perform mechanical testing, we fixed two longitudinal acrylic pipes with four different methods, and used them for a three-point bending test (N = 5). The three-point bending test revealed that the average fracture energy for the IM-BM group (PLLA + CPC + PHA) was 3 times greater than that of PLLA + CPC group, and 60 to 200 times greater than that of CPC + PHA group and CPC group.