# Knifeless Limb Lengthening: Critical Advancement of an Innovative Therapy

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER · 2022 · $214,866

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Over 40,000 children in the US are hospitalized for musculoskeletal deformities each year. Abnormal and often
diminished skeletal growth is the root cause of many of these conditions. For years, periosteal resection has
been shown to accelerate longitudinal bone growth. Previous attempts to surgically exploit this phenomenon
as a growth accelerating therapeutic modality have produced variable results that have not justified the
procedures’ surgical morbidity and has been a major barrier to widespread clinical use. Recently, we have
developed technology capable of performing these procedures non-invasively. However, the current
technology lacks the necessary targeting and imaging capabilities to measure and ensure proper energy
delivery at the bone surface. Furthermore, the exact portion of the periosteum that must be injured to
accelerate growth is unclear. Thus, in the first aim we will determine the component of the periosteum injured
during open surgical periosteal resection responsible for physeal growth acceleration and in the second aim we
will integrate targeting capabilities into our system to allow precise placement of energy on the periosteum to
minimize adjacent soft tissue injury. At the completion of the proposed work, we will have furthered our goal of
developing a simple, non-invasive method to modulate skeletal growth.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10355106
- **Project number:** 1R21AR080361-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Matthew A Halanski
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $214,866
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-06-15 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10355106

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10355106, Knifeless Limb Lengthening: Critical Advancement of an Innovative Therapy (1R21AR080361-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10355106. Licensed CC0.

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