AI model to predict healing of thigh bone fractures

New Delhi: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati have developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) model to predict healing of thigh bone fractures after surgery.

According to the team, the model can be used to assess the healing outcomes of different fracture fixation strategies so that an optimum strategy can be chosen for the patient depending on their personal physiologies and fracture type.

Using such precision models can reduce the healing time, lighten the economic burden and pain for patients who need thigh fracture treatment, they said. The results of the research have recently been published in open-source journal, "PLoS One". "AI has tremendous potential when it comes to understanding and predicting complex biological phenomena and hence, can play a big role in health sciences applications," said Souptick Chanda, Assistant Professor, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Guwahati.

The research team has used a combination of Finite Element Analysis and the AI tool "Fuzzy Logic" to understand the healing process of fracture after various treatment methods. "Various bone growth parameters were used along with a rule-based simulation scheme for this purpose. The study further examined the influence of different screw fixation mechanisms to compare the fracture healing efficacies of each process.

The predictions of healing made by the model agreed well with experimental observations, pointing to its reliability. "Our simulation model can potentially help a surgeon choose the right implant or technique before a fracture treatment surgery. In addition to various biological and patient-specific parameters, the model can also account for different clinical phenomena, such as smoking, diabetes, etc.