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Jakarta. Local researchers have recently developed bone plates specifically designed for Indonesian skeletal structures that would allow fractures to heal faster.

Researchers at Yogyakarta’s Gadjah Mada University (UGM) said the plates would suit Indonesians better than imports molded to fit Caucasian skeletal structures.

The idea for developing the localized plates was sparked by the May 2006 earthquake in Bantul district, which left scores of people with broken bones.

“It was a wake-up call for us to reduce our reliance on imported bone plates, whose sizes [were incompatible] with Indonesian people and therefore greatly affected the quality of bone reconstruction and recovery,” Suyitno, one of the five developers, told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday.

“Not all orthopedic surgeons have the ability to reconstruct the bones using those plates as precisely as possible,” he said.

The project, which began in 2007, was a joint effort by engineering experts from the university’s Material Engineering Laboratory under the School of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and surgeons from the School of Medicine’s Orthopedic and Trauma Center.

Using x-rays from 162 test subjects aged 20 to 40 years old, the team made a database of bone measurements, from which they calculated the average bone size of Indonesians. They used this data to design the plates.

Suyitno said the team focused on developing plates for bones in the legs since these are most likely to get fractured.

He said the plates were constructed using 316L Grade stainless steel — a low-carbon, corrosion-resistant alloy used in orthopedic implants — that had to be shipped from Sweden.

However, Suyitno said there were no test subjects from Papua or Maluku, so the designs may not fit people in these areas.

“It gave us a new research idea to develop implant plates for the bone structures of Melanesian ethnic groups,” he said.

Last year, the team got a Rp 400 million ($44,000) grant from the Ministry of National Education’s Directorate General of Higher Education. The ministry provided the same amount this year for the project.

The researchers are conducting clinical and laboratory tests to verify the safety of the plates. Initial results are expected by the end of the year.

The plates must also be certified by the Health Ministry before they can be introduced commercially, Suyitno said.

Joserizal Jurnalis, an orthopedist and director of the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (Mer-C), welcomed the development of more affordable, locally produced bone plates.

“The team must pay attention to plate-making techniques and how to attach the screws to ensure comfort for patients,” he told the Globe on Friday.

While steel plates are strong enough to support a person’s weight and elastic enough to allow unhindered body movement, Joserizal said no man-made material could match the properties of human bone.

“What would be a real revolutionary change is the development of a bone plate material that could be absorbed by the bones,” he said.

“This idea is actually the current subject of research in the orthopedics community.”