Project Description

SIGN  is a humanitarian organization that builds sustainable orthopedic capacity in low and moderate income countries by providing relevant education to surgeons, and then donating the instruments and implants needed to treat long bone fractures. SIGN has developed an innovative long bone metal implant with related instruments which is used to set fractured bones without the aid of X-ray equipment which is scarce in developing countries. Without this implant equipment and treatment thousands of patients would have severe disability due to untreated fractures. The Darwin Project provides funding to cover the cost of implant equipment in many locations where needed.

One of the Darwin Project’s first grants was awarded to Sign Fracture Care International to provide two full surgical packs to the Tenwek Hospital in Kenya for long bone fracture and pelvis repair. We then awarded a second grant to SIGN, to provide a long bone surgical repair pack to Hawassa Comprehensive specialized Hospital, Ethiopia. This grant was kindly matched by Dr. Lewis G. Zirkle, founder of SIGN Fracture care international. We continue to work with SIGN to help broaden their application.

DPI continues to fund SIGN Fracture Care International surgical kits on an annual basis where needed. SIGN is full system for treatment of long bone fractures without the need for x-ray equipment. SIGN provides the implant instrument sets, orthopaedic training on application of the system, and an ongoing supply of implants to surgeons, and building surgical capacity throughout the world.

• DPI donated the following kits in 2020 and 2021. We also will be providing 10 third-generation negative pressure wound systems to doctors using the SIGN system to broaden testing of the systems.
• Tenwek Hospital in Kenya has received resupply of implants and instruments.
• Hawassa Referral Hospital in Ethiopia has received resupply of implants.
• Meskine Baptist Hospital Maroua in Cameroon received a complete start-up set of implants and instruments.
• Hargeisa Group Hospital in Somaliland received a complete start-up set of implants and instruments as well as resupply.
• A complete start-up kit and drills to the new program in Malawi of the Leonard Banza as a Traveling Set.

In 2021 DPI provided financial support and equipment for Dr. Agarwal-Harding to visit to perform surgeries and train local surgeons in best surgical practices and use of the SIGN kit, and to provide continuing educational support in orthopaedic surgery.