Word: bones
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...does remains something of a puzzle, but apparently the electricity acts as a kind of signal to certain bone cells known as osteoblasts. Normally, the cells promote deposition of calcium and other minerals that act as the "cement" in the formation of hard bone. Sometimes the osteoblasts go berserk, producing either too little or too much cement. When that happens, explains Bassett, "we can say, 'Release calcium,' or we can say, 'Don't release calcium,' simply by inducing a current with the necessary voltage across the cell membrane...
...technique devised by Brighton, Teflon-coated electrodes are implanted directly into the bone around the fracture site even before the broken limb is placed in a cast. The electrodes are then hooked up to a small 7.5-volt battery that is strapped to the cast; a tiny current of 10 to 20 microamperes is directed into the area of the break. The voltage is applied about twelve hours a day for two to four months. Then the electrodes are surgically removed...
...some cases by resorting to a bit of electromagnetic prestidigitation. He attaches a set of electrical coils, like those in a small motor, on the outside of the cast directly around the region of the break. In that way he is able to induce an electrical current within the bone. The treatment requires only a 10-volt portable powerpack, can be operated by the patient at home, and is continued for about the same two to four months as Brighton's method...
Bassett reports solid bone growth in 80% of 308 patients; Brighton says that he has achieved an 84% cure rate in his 200 cases. Their patients have even more reason to be pleased. As his cast and magnetic coils were removed last month, Brachfield asked anxiously: "Can I play shuffleboard? Can I bowl?" Bassett hesitated a moment, looked at an X ray of the healed fracture, then confidently assured his patient that he would soon be playing both sports...
...drawn and wholly believable, curiously enough, is the great love between the two brothers. If the result is fiction as eccentric as its subjects, no matter. Most current novels err in the direction of stultifying detail and would be better if they were supplied with less meat and more bone...