There is currently no objective measure to monitor fracture healing. For this reason, it becomes challenging to determine a plan of care for wounded service members with long bone fractures, and clinical treatment decisions are based on subjective clinical and radiographic data. It is our goal with the proposed research to develop an objective measure of fracture healing based upon imaging modalities that are currently used in the care of patients. This objective fracture monitoring system will optimize fracture care for each individual patient, help to improve the success rate of limb salvage, and improve ultimate functional recovery of wounded service members. There are no additional risks imposed on the patients by participating in this study, as this is both a retrospective and observational study used to develop an objective fracture care system. When we are successful in validating the system, we will develop a subsequent clinical trial where the objective fracture monitoring system will be used to guide fracture care. This proposed study will take approximately 2 years to complete. |
