Platts & Nisbett surgical instruments have recently been featured in The Independent; gaining recognition for our work with MidTECH, the NHS Innovations Hub for the West Midlands.

Last year, The Department of Health asked the six NHS Regional Innovation Centres to submit their 10 most successful product innovations. Platts & Nisbett is thrilled to be one of the four chosen to be published in The Independent.

The concept for the new surgical instrument was brought to Platts & Nisbett following a request from Miss Deepa Bose, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon based at the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. Miss Bose and her colleague Simon Williams had an idea for a new medical device to aid in the debridement of bone cavities.

The procedure involved cutting a small aperture into the surface of the bone, allowing the surgeon to access the cavity and remove infected tissue from inside. The surgical instruments previously available made this difficult, as they tended to be straight and rigid, therefore making it difficult to access the bone cavity and remove infected tissue from the inner walls of the bone.

Miss Bose and MidTECH chose to work with Platts & Nisbett due to the high quality of our surgical instruments and our willingness to discuss new ideas. Following these discussions the design for the first prototype Birmingham Bone Scraper was agreed and manufacture was completed shortly afterwards. The new surgical instrument has adjustable hinges that allow for extra dexterity when working in bone cavities.

The idea and its intellectual property have now been licensed to Platts & Nisbett, with royalties for any future sales going to the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.