Procurement Innovation
Low-Cost Modular External Fixator for District Trauma Units
A locally manufacturable spanning fixator assembled from standardised clamps, cutting per-case implant cost while keeping construct stiffness within accepted limits.
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Specialty
Trauma & Fracture Care
Location
Nashik, Maharashtra
Published
14 Mar 2026
Research type
Device Development
Abstract
Demo abstract. Spanning external fixation is often delayed in district units because imported frames are unavailable or unaffordable. This project developed a modular fixator from locally machined clamps and standard Schanz pins, bench-tested for stiffness and piloted in temporising fixation of open tibial fractures.
Description
The design brief was a frame that any district theatre could stock: three part numbers, no proprietary tooling, and sterilisable in a standard autoclave cycle.
Bench testing compared axial and torsional stiffness against a commercially available frame under identical pin configurations.
A pilot cohort used the frame purely as a temporising construct, with conversion to definitive fixation once soft tissues allowed.
Innovation / discovery
A three-component clamp system that accepts both 4.5 mm and 5.0 mm pins, replacing a nine-component imported set at a fraction of the unit cost.
Surgical / procedural method
Standard pin placement in safe corridors, frame built in a delta configuration for tibial injuries. Assembly time and intra-operative fluoroscopy were logged for every case.
Research findings
- Axial stiffness stayed within 12% of the comparator frame in bench testing.
- Mean assembly time reduced across the pilot as the team standardised the build sequence.
- No pin-track infection required frame removal during the temporising period.
Attached documents
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Bench testing report
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Assembly walkthrough deck
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