Different types of screws are present in practice today including cortical, cancellous, cannulated, Herbert, Malleolar, and pedicle [1]. Each of these types of orthopedic bone screws are used depending on type of fracture, as well as the type of bone in the fracture [2]. The proper use of these screws is important to the healing and union of bone.
While cortical screws require penetration of the screw through the entire bone, cancellous bone screws allow the fracture to be fixated without extraneous bone damage, and are therefore preferred. This approach yields improved healing. However, certain problems are inherent to cancellous bone screws: their primary mode of failure involves loosening of the screw, which removes necessary compression on the fracture line [3]. Also, these devices are limited by a lack of adjustability relative to holding power. Based on these criteria, it is clear that there...
