X-ray equipment which is the first of its kind in the world has arrived at a top Scottish university to help researchers develop better bone-healing techniques.
Experts at Aberdeen University will benefit from the sharpest-ever three-dimensional bone images after taking delivery of a custom-built Direct Digital Radiostereometry system.
The £500,000 machine, called Nessie, gives doctors and scientists the chance to fully analyse the success, or failure, of joint replacements like never before.
It will also allow them to better assess the healing of broken bones and damaged tendons, as well as lead new research into arthritis and osteoporosis.
Radiostereometry (RSA) technology takes two simultaneous X-rays of a patient to monitor 3D movement, allowing doctors to get a closer look at replacement joints.
The technique was pioneer-ed in Sweden, but the Aberdeen machine is the first to send direct recordings of the images to a computer, giving a sharper and more accurate picture of the injury being studied by researchers.
Professor David Reid, head of the university’s division of applied medicine, said: “This new facility will prove a boon for research into many types of arthritis but also, critically, the bone disease osteoporosis.”
Orthopaedic surgeon Paddy Ashcroft, senior lecturer at the university, has been the driving force behind the new equipment, which has been funded by the Scottish Chief Scientist Office, Grampian Osteoporosis Trust, NHS Grampian Research in Orthopaedics Fund and the university.
He said: “Aberdeen is already acknowledged as a world leader for its imaging work and its research into bone diseases. Nessie further establishes our position as being right at the forefront of musculoskeletal and RSA research.
“Our aim is to improve the care of patients with arthritis, fractures and tendon diseases, using the information we gain from a wide range of clinical and basic science projects.
“We also believe that with this equipment we can develop and simplify the RSA technique, enabling it to be introduced to patient care, nationally and internationally.”
Nessie was built through a collaboration involving Aberdeen University, Canon, Xograph and a Danish firm. The machine, which was officially unveiled by actress and osteoporosis campaigner Susan Hampshire yesterday, is expected to be operational in three weeks. It has been set up at a new digital X-ray suite at the city’s health sciences building at Foresterhill.