>> SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE MOUNTING THE SAMPLE.
AND I AM LOOSENING AND TIGHTENING IT UP SO IT'S STURDY
AND SO WHEN IT ACTUALLY RUNS, IT'S NOT MOVING AROUND.
>> BIG DISCOVERIES AND BIG ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND MEDICINE
OFTEN START BY LOOKING AT THE SMALLEST OF ITEMS.
>> WHEN I PULL IT UP ON THE SCREEN, I LIKE TO SEE THE
DIFFERENT -- LIKE HOW -- THE DIFFERENCE JOINTS IN THE KNEE,
THE LITTLE THINGS THAT WE DON'T GET TO SEE FROM THE NAKED EYE
THAT WILL SHOW UP ON THE COMPUTER.
WE CAN DO 3D IMAGES OF IT.
>> BRITTANY SLOAN IS USING AN ELECTRON MICROSCOPE TO STUDY THE
KNEE OF A RAT.
SHE'S LOOKING FOR CALCIFICATION IN THE JOINTS.
IT'S OTHERWISE KNOWN AS ARTHRITIS.
>> I WANT TO KIND OF GET THIS VIEW RIGHT HERE.
THIS IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
>> RESEARCHERS AT NORTH CAROLINA A&T ARE LEARNING ALL THEY CAN
ABOUT BONES AND JOINTS BECAUSE THEY ARE DEVELOPING A NEW
TREATMENT PLAN FOR HOW TO REPAIR THEM.
THEY WANT TO CREATE BIORESORBABLE METAL ALLOYS,
MEDICAL IMPLANTS THE BODY ABSORBS.
>> IF YOU WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT IN TERMS OF, WHEN I -- WE WERE
YOUNGER, THEY USED TO TREAT BONE BREAKS WITH CASTS, RIGHT?
AND YOU WANT THE CAST TO BE THERE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME,
BUT OVER A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF -- LATER, YOU CAN TAKE OFF THE CAST
AND YOUR BONE'S BEEN HEALED.
WELL, THIS IS KIND OF AN INTERNAL TREATMENT WHERE YOU
WANT THIS HEALING TO OCCUR.
BUT ONCE THE HEALING OCCURS, THEN YOU WANT TO SORT OF TURN ON
THE DEGRADATION PROPERTIES AND HAVE IT DISSOLVE AWAY.
>> HERE'S THE IDEA.
RIGHT NOW BROKEN BONES ARE OFTEN REPAIRED BY INSERTING A TITANIUM
ROD INTO THE BONE, WHICH HOLDS THE BONE IN PLACE UNTIL IT
HEALS.
SOMETIMES THE IMPLANTS ARE LEFT IN THE BODY.
MANY TIMES THE IMPLANTS ARE REMOVED.
AND THAT POSES THE RISK OF ANOTHER SURGERY.
IT'S ALSO EXPENSIVE.
RESEARCHERS HOPE THIS MAY CHANGE THAT.
THIS IS MAGNESIUM.
IT'S A METAL, BUT IT'S ALSO AN ESSENTIAL NUTRIENT THAT THE BODY
NEEDS AND KNOWS HOW TO METABOLIZE.
THE STUDY PROPOSES MAKING IMPLANTS OUT OF MAGNESIUM, WHICH
IS STRONG ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THE HEALING, BUT OVER TIME WOULD
DISSOLVE AND BE ABSORBED BY THE BODY.
BUT THERE ARE PLENTY OF QUESTIONS THAT MUST BE ANSWERED.
>> THIS IS A SPECIFIC ALLOY, SO MAGNESIUM NUMBER FIVE.
>> RESEARCHERS NEED TO KNOW HOW WELL VARIOUS MAGNESIUM ALLOYS
HOLD UP IN THE BODY.
MAGNESIUM ALLOY IS A COMBINATION OF MAGNESIUM WITH ANOTHER METAL.
SCIENTISTS NEED TO TEST WHETHER THE ALLOW IS STRONG ENOUGH TO
SUPPORT HEALING AND HOW THICK DOES THE IMPLANT NEED TO BE.
SO DOZENS OF TINY MAGNESIUM PLATES WILL BE PLACED IN THESE
TEST TUBES THAT CONTAIN SOLUTIONS THAT MIMIC THE
CHEMICAL CONDITIONS IN THE HUMAN BODY TO FIND THE ANSWERS.
>> FROM THIS IS A 40 TO 12, 8, 6, 5, 4 MILLIMETER.
WE ARE TESTING THE MECHANICAL PROPERTY AND ALSO THE CORRODING
PROPERTY OF THESE.
WE FOUND THAT MECHANICALLY IT'S SEVERAL TIMES ENHANCED.
FOR EXAMPLE -- >> NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.
THE SMALLER YOU GET, THE STRONGER IT IS?
>> USUALLY, YES.
>> OKAY.
THERE'S ALSO THE QUESTION OF JUST HOW THE MAGNESIUM ALLOY
IMPLANT WOULD CORRODE.
WOULD IT LAST LONG ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THE HEALING OF THE BONE
OR THE OPENING OF AN ARTERY USING A STENT, MUCH LIKE THIS?
THESE, TOO, COULD ALSO BE MADE OF MAGNESIUM ALLOYS.
CHRIS SMITH STUDIES ALL OF THAT AT THE MICROSCOPIC LEVEL.
TURNS OUT SEEING THE SMALLEST DETAIL GIVES YOU THE BIGGEST
PICTURE.
>> THIS IS MAGNESIUM ZINC CALCIUM ALLOY, AND SO THIS IS
THE MICROSTRUCTURE WITHIN THE ALLOY, AND THIS IS REALLY
IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF CHARACTERIZING THE ALLOY.
IT GIVES YOU INFORMATION ON THE MECHANICAL STRENGTH, CORROSION
PROPERTIES, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
>> ONE FLOOR UP IN THE RESEARCH CENTER YOU'LL FIND THESE.
THE MEDICAL TERM IS PAPER-BASED MICROFLUIDIC DEVICE.
IT'S AN EASY WAY FOR A PATIENT TO CHECK ON HOW WELL THE BROKEN
BONE IS HEALING OR THE STATUS OF A MAGNESIUM ALLOY IMPLANT.
IT'S ALL DONE THROUGH THE CHEMICAL MAKEUP OF A PATIENT'S
BLOOD.
A DROP OF BLOOD IS APPLIED TO THE PAPER, AND THE REACTION
BETWEEN THE MARKERS ON THE PAPER AND THE CHEMICALS IN THE BLOOD
WILL INDICATE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE BODY.
>> WHAT WE CAN DO IS WE TAKE THE BLOOD AND SEE HOW THE -- THE
MARKER IS CHANGING EVERY DAY, EVERY WEEK.
AND THEN, AS AN INDICATOR, WE CAN, LIKE, PREDICT THE BEHAVIORS
OF THE -- THE BONE HEALING PROCESS IN OUR BODY.
>> PART OF THE CHALLENGE FOR RESEARCHERS IN THIS BUILDING WHO
ARE DEVELOPING THIS MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY IS THAT EACH IMPLANT
HAS TO BE CUSTOM-MADE FOR A SPECIFIC PART OF THE BODY.
SO AN IMPLANT THAT WOULD BE GOING INTO THE JAW, SAY, WOULD
FACE DIFFERENT FORCES AND EVEN DIFFERENT CHEMICAL
CHARACTERISTICS THAN ONE THAT'S IMPLANTED IN THE SHOULDER OR THE
HEART OR THE HIP OR THE KNEE.
>> EVERY TIME A SCREW OR A PLATE, IT NEEDS CERTAIN
PROPERTIES.
IT HAS TO HAVE CERTAIN STRENGTH WHEN YOU PULL IT OR PUSH IT,
AND ITS BIODEGRADABILITY, ITS, LIKE, CORROSION.
THEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT WHEN IT DISSOLVES, WHAT HAPPENS TO CELL
AROUND IT?
THERE'S NO TOXICITY.
SO YOU HAVE TO CONTROL ALL THESE THINGS.
SO THAT MEANS IF YOU CREATE A SLEW OF ALLOYS, WHAT WE CALL
MATERIALS BY DESIGN, SO YOU'VE GOT A HUGE MIX OF ALL KIND OF
ALLOYS, THEN A DOCTOR CAN SAY, LIKE, OH, THIS ALLOY IS GOOD FOR
A BONE JOINT, BECAUSE THIS DISAPPEARS AT A DIFFERENT RATE
COMPARED TO HEART STENT AND WHERE SOME KIND OF A SCREW GOES.
SO DIFFERENT ALLOYS FOR DIFFERENT THINGS.
>> IF THIS ALL SOUNDS LIKE MEDICAL SCIENCE FICTION, IT'S
NOT.
RESEARCHERS AT NORTH CAROLINA A&T ARE DEVELOPING A WIDE RANGE
OF MAGNESIUM ALLOYS THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR CUSTOMIZABLE MEDICAL
IMPLANTS.
IF ALL GOES WELL, YOUR DOCTOR COULD EVENTUALLY SELECT AN
IMPLANT THAT IS TAILOR-MADE TO FIT YOUR MEDICAL NEEDS AND EVEN
YOUR BODY CHEMISTRY.
THE INITIAL RESEARCH ON THE IDEA BEGAN IN 2008.
>> NOW ALLOYS ARE BEING DEVELOPED.
ALL THE PROPERTIES ARE BEING CHECKED.
AND WE ARE LOOKING AT WHAT WE CALL A TEST BED.
THAT MEANS ACTUALLY PROTOTYPING TO CHECK WHAT -- WHAT DO -- DOES
IT WORK, BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY GO ON A HUMAN TRIAL.
>> SO THIS MIGHT NOT BE A DREAM ANYMORE.
THIS IS ACTUALLY -- >> IT IS -- IT'S -- IT'S THE
DREAM BECOMING A REALITY.
IT'S A STEP-BY-STEP, STEP-BY-STEP.
SO WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS THAT.