I-Corps: Translation potential of carbon fiber-reinforced polyether ether ketone (CFR-PEEK) mandibular reconstruction plates

Award ID: 2628084

This I-Corps project is based on the development of reconstruction plates to replace the lower jaw for patients following treatment for head and neck cancers. Current treatment uses titanium plates, which are associated with high rates of failure and imaging artifacts that limit post operative monitoring. Titanium plates interfere with standard post-surgical high-dose radiation therapy treatment by blocking and scattering therapeutic radiation, compromising dose delivery to residual cancer cells. This radiation impairment leads to a 24% cancer recurrence rate for patients receiving post-operative radiation near titanium plates. In addition, long-term monitoring is compromised by bright artifacts that prevent radiologists from evaluating the tissues they need to monitor for recurrence. Radiation therapy also damages the titanium plate, driving mechanical failure, complications that force 50% of patients back to the operating room for plate removal and replacement. This technology enables uncompromised post-surgical radiation therapy and long-term cancer monitoring, which may improve the care and outcomes for patients with head and neck cancers. This I-Corps project investigates the commercial potential of carbon fiber reinforced polyether ether ketone mandibular reconstruction plates for patients requiring reconstruction following treatment for head and neck cancers. Conventional titanium hardware is associated with high rates of failure and imaging artifacts that limit post operative surveillance. In addition, titanium is linked to radiation dose perturbation that can compromise adjuvant therapy, and chronic pain that often necessitates revision surgeries. This technology is designed to provide a modulus of elasticity closer to cortical bone, radiolucent properties that enable artifact-free computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) imaging, and design flexibility that supports patient specific surgical planning. The technology includes a workflow for manufacturing patient specific plates using additive methods informed by CT-derived anatomical models while early dosimetry data indicate minimal radiation dose perturbation relative to titanium. This may reduce revision surgeries, improved radiation delivery, decrease opioid use associated with chronic hardware related pain, and provide better imaging for long term surveillance. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Ruth Shuman