IIT Guwahati creates an AI-assisted model to forecast the success of various fracture-treatment techniques.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology in Guwahati have created an artificial intelligence (AI) model to forecast how thigh bone fractures would heal following surgery. With the help of the model created by Dr. Souptick Chanda, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering at IIT Guwahati, and his team, it is possible to compare the healing results of various fracture fixation techniques and select the one that is best for the individual patient based on their unique physiologies and fracture type. Such accurate models help speed up recovery, ease financial strain, and lessen suffering for individuals who require thigh fracture therapy.

Dr. Souptick Chanda and his research assistant, Mr. Pratik Nag, recently co-authored a manuscript in the open-source journal PLoS One that contained the findings of this study.Dr. Souptick Chanda, an assistant professor in the department of biosciences and bioengineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, commented on the study's findings by saying that "AI has tremendous potential when it comes to understanding and predicting complex biological phenomena and therefore, can play a big role in health sciences applications."

The study team has combined Finite Element Analysis with the AI tool Fuzzy Logic to better understand how fractures heal after receiving various treatments. For this, several bone-growth parameters and a rule-based simulation method were employed. In order to compare the effectiveness of each procedure for treating fractures, the study also looked at the impact of various screw fixation mechanisms. The model's healing predictions and experimental observations were in good agreement, demonstrating the model's validity.A surgeon may use the model to select the best implant or procedure before performing a fracture-treatment surgery. The model can take into consideration many clinical occurrences, such as smoking, diabetes, and other biological and patient-specific characteristics. The concept can also be applied to animal fractures, which resemble human patient fractures in a number of ways and physiologically.

Based on the technique, the researchers intend to create software that can be used to fracture treatment regimens in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. For animal experiments to validate and fine-tune parameters, the team is working with Dr. Bhaskar Borgohain and his group of orthopaedists at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences Hospital.The occurrences of thigh-bone and hip fractures have increased dramatically as a result of the growing global elderly population, making the research conducted by IIT Guwahati researchers helpful. In India alone, there are thought to be 2 lakh hip fractures each year, the majority of which necessitate hospitalisation and trauma care. Bone plates and rods are typically used as part of hip fracture treatment to span the fracture site and encourage bone repair. There is no mechanism to forecast the effectiveness and success of the treatment strategy chosen for a fracture; instead, surgeons make these decisions instinctively based on their experience. The study from IIT Guwahati will aid in boosting decision-making accuracy in orthopaedics, which will lower the price and illness burden related to fracture rehabilitation.Progress is being made by IIT Guwahati in the fields of medical technology and allied fields. Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, and Deep Learning, among others, and its applications in the cross-disciplinary fields of health sciences, weather prediction, and nanotechnology, have gotten a substantial boost with the recent construction of Supercomputer facility PARAM KAMRUPA at the Institute.