Two Dal alumni are on a mission to revolutionize care for orthopedic patients — and they’re doing so by mixing a special kind of cement.

Dr. Caitlin Pierlot (PhD (Biomedical Engineering)’14) and Brett Dickey (BEng’10) have developed a unique glass ionomer cement that can be injected into the vertebrae of a patient suffering from an osteoporotic spinal fracture. Over 700,000 people incur such fractures each year in the U.S. alone.

The pair works together at their startup company, Biofix Medical Technologies, alongside Dalhousie biomedical engineering professor Dr. Daniel Boyd.

Together, they won the 2015 BioNova BioInnovation Challenge, securing a $45,000 prize to continue developing their product.

Dr. Pierlot explains that instead of being prescribed bed rest, painkillers or invasive surgery, patients using Biofix cement will be able to come in with a spinal fracture and walk out after a minimally invasive outpatient procedure.

The alumna is CEO at Biofix and also a postdoctoral fellow at Dalhousie. Dickey is currently working towards a PhD at Dal while serving as the company’s Chief Technology Officer.

The team has secured a patent for its product and plans to submit its cement to the U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA) for approval.

Read more in “Developing an award-winning cement to treat orthopedic patients” on dal.ca.

Photo Credit: Bruce Bottomley.