Russian scientists have patented a new invention, which could bring major benefits to the world of medicine. They have designed a material that helps bones to grow several times faster than normal.

The method developed in the Russian Scientific Centre for Restorative Traumatology and Orthopaedics uses is pin with a special coating. When the pin is inserted into a patient’s broken limb, the coating dissolves and boosts the recovery process. The bone tissue grows up to four times faster, the doctors say.

The reported breakthrough is great news for people whou would normally have spent months in hospital.  The new procedure could see them back on their feet in weeks: “It saves time, doctors’ work, and money as well,” says Vladimir Shevtsov, Head of the Centre.

The pins with the new coating are manufactured in the city of Tomsk in Siberia. The complex process, which the producer calls ‘bioengineering’, involves applying calcium phosphate to a special film.

The scientists plan to use platinum to further reduce any risk of complications.