The Veterans’ Foundation has awarded a grant of £30,000 to help fund a medical fellowship looking into a pioneering material to repair bone injuries and minimise infection risk in injured military personnel.
Major Harry Claireaux, a Trauma and Orthopaedic Registrar in the Royal Army Medical Corps, is looking into the potential of man-made Bioactive glass to treat severe wounds in conflict situations and ensure that injured personnel receive cutting-edge care to improve recovery outcomes and future quality of life.
Soldiers with limb injuries in Ukraine went on to developed drug-resistant bacterial infections that resulted in the need to amputate, a life-changing measure that can have a drastic impact on the future wellbeing of veterans.
Large, complex wounds and shattered bone can become contaminated with shrapnel and debris, creating high-risk bone and soft tissue infections that leave the injured susceptible to dangerous infection, and amputations, which can lead to severe health complications and even death.
Bioactive glass is already used in orthopaedics and dentistry for its ability to stimulate bone regrowth, fight infection, and to bind to bone without triggering an immune response.
However, Harry’s research seeks to understand how new Bouncy Bioglass and Cotton Wool like Bioglass could be used effectively for wound healing in conflict zones. This would address the urgent need for rapid treatment of life-threatening injuries in military settings.
His research is being conducted as the inaugural recipient of the Scar Free Foundation Defence Medical Services PhD.
“Multi drug-resistant bacterial infections risk turning back the clock to a time before antibiotics when conflict wounds had a high risk of amputation or death,” said Harry.
“That’s a difficult decision to take in this day and age, so a material that can be applied quickly to prevent infection taking hold, and begin the healing process, could have a tremendous impact on the future outcome for the wounded individual.”
Harry is in the first few months of a three-year research PhD at Imperial College London working in a specialist laboratory.
The VF grant will fund a significant research project in his first year of research.
The Veterans’ Foundation’s Grants Manager, Louise Buchanon, said:
“We see first-hand the traumatic and life-changing impacts that injuries can cause to veterans, so we know that this grant will go to good use. We look forward to the results of Harry’s research and hope his findings bring positive change and beneficial outcomes for injured veterans in the future.”
