About the LIRC

 

The LIRC was set up in 2008 by by two orthopaedic surgeons Alister Hart at Imperial College London (Charing Cross Hospital campus) and John Skinner at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. It is funded by the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA) through an industry consortium of nine manufacturers: Depuy, Zimmer, Smith & Nephew, Biomet, JRI, Finsbury, Corin, Mathys and Stryker. The contract allows for freedom to publish all results.

Alister Hart’s MD (Cambridge University) was on “the effects of wear debris from metal-on-metal hip replacements” and was supervised by John Skinner and Prof Jonathan Powell (MRC HNR, Cambridge). This included biocompatibility work performed at the Diamond Light Source synchrotron facility (where he is one of only a handful of clinicians leading experiments) which was presented at the 350th anniversary Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, June 2010 (attended by 46,000 visitors).

This field is rapidly advancing. For instance, a worldwide recall of the Depuy ASR and ASR XL metal-on-metal hip arthroplasties was announced on 27th august 2010 (96,000 patients worldwide and 7,500 in the UK). However, a publication in October 2010 showed good results from 5000 patients for another type of hip resurfacing. Thus, there is conflicting evidence and lively debate that needs translational research such as that being carried out by the LIRC. Research from the LIRC has influenced advice on this subject from the Medicines and Health Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the British Orthopaedic Association and the British Hip Society.

The PI is part of a seven person British Orthopaedic Association advisory group to guide orthopaedic surgeons in the clinical management of patients with this type of prosthesis.