3D-printed titanium limbs help frostbitten cat stand up again
A female cat in Russia who lost all four paws from frostbite is now able to walk, run and even climb stairs again. Thanks to a veterinarian who also replaced her missing limbs. 3D printing Prosthetic leg made of titanium
A hardy gray cat named Dymka (“mist” in Russian), about 4 years old, was found by a passing driver in December 2018 in the snow in Novokuznetsk in Siberia. And took her to a clinic in Novosibirsk. According to the Russian news site Komsomolskaya Pravda.
Dymka suffered frost bites on her paws, ears and tail, so much so that veterinarian Sergei Gorshkov had to amputate the damaged leg. The Moscow Times reported that.
During the winter that Siberia punishes The veterinarians at the Novosibirsk Clinic usually treat at least five to seven cats due to frostbite in the paws, ears and nose, Gorshkov told The Moscow Times. Frostbite occurs when cold temperatures freeze skin and tissue, especially in the extremities. in extreme cases The tissue dies and amputation is required.
Gorshkov and his colleagues at the clinic collaborated with researchers at Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) in Tomsk, Russia. To create a prosthetic suit for Dymka, scientists developed and used a coating made from calcium phosphates that help with addiction titanium The implant was inserted and fused into her leg bone. and to reduce the risk of infection and transplant rejection.
Researchers used a computed tomography (CT) scan of Dymka’s leg to create a model and then 3D-printed a titanium rod. Dymka received her prostheses in July 2019, starting with her fore and hind legs. Novosibirsk News reported.. in video Share to YouTube By the veterinary clinic on Dec. 10, 2019 – seven months after attaching Dymka’s new paws – he was having fun stretching, walking around the examining room and playing with the edges of the blanket.
The close-up shows where the titanium rod connects to her leg. It ends with a “foot” made from a flexible black material with a textured sole.
Dymka is now the second cat in the world to receive four metal prostheses. In 2016, a similar procedure was performed at a clinic in Novosibirsk. He installed a titanium implant on a male cat named Ryzhik (“red” in Russian), which required amputation of his frostbitten foot fourfold.
