Galway Bay fm newsroom - A new thumb implant by a Galway-based medical devices company could be a major breakthrough in the treatment of thumb arthritis.
Loci Orthopaedics, founded by medical doctor Brendan Boland and medical devices engineer Gerry Clarke, has created the InDX implant and hopes to create 8 direct jobs over the next three years.
Loci Orthopaedics is based at the Business Innovation Centre at NUI Galway.
One in three women over the age of 55 suffer from painful arthritis of the thumb.
When a problem develops with the base joint in the thumb, some surgeons remove the bone or fuse the joint.
Dr. Brendan Boland says sometimes implants such as those used for hip arthritis are also used but have an unacceptably high failure rate.
The InDX implant is different in that it allows the thumb joint to move in the same way as a healthy joint, allowing patients to return to full functioning in a matter of weeks.
According to today's Irish Times, the company is now hoping to raise 2.5 million euro to fund further development, compliance and distribution.
The first clinical trial of the InDX device in Europe will take place in just over a year.
