Broken bones are no pretty picture but these ASX stocks help you diagnose or fix them

Broken bones is an area of health becoming an increasing concern in Australia and there’s an abundance of ASX stocks delving in it.

It has been estimated that 173,000 Australians broke bones last year – just from osteoporosis.

But there are several ASX stocks helping Australians who sustain such injuries. They fall into two categories: companies that make technology helping bones grow better, and stocks that help diagnose broken bones.

Helping broken bones regrow

A couple of ASX plays specialise in a technology known as biological scaffolds, namely Aroa Biosurgery (ASX:ARX) and Osteopore (ASX:OSX).

Biological scaffolds are artificial surgical implants which help bodies regrow tissue or bones that have been damaged or lost due to disease or injury.

Both companies have only listed in the last 18 months and have performed well with Osteopore up 150 per cent and Aroa up 64 per cent.

A third company Allegra Orthopaedics (ASX:AMT) has a similar technology specifically aimed at spinal bones – namely a spinal cage. Allegra has also seen a gain in recent months from 9 cents to over 30 cents after formally acquiring the IP and putting it through rigorous testing (which it passed with flying colours).

There is one other ASX stock with a solution for broken bones, in Orthocell (ASX:OCC), with its CelGro technology. Orthocell has gained the most traction from investors due to its results in regard to nerve pain; CelGro was initially conceived to help with surgical repair of bone and soft tissue.

It was just approved to help with dental implants in Australia in December and by the US FDA in January.

Diagnostics

Another handful of ASX stocks help with broken bones by diagnosing the problem.

The largest is radiology stock Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) which has seen growth from 50 cents to over $40 in just over seven years off the back of success in the US.

One other radiology stock is Micro-X (ASX:MX1). This company is unique because its x-rays are portable, making them suitable for temporary medical facilities that require short term equipment.

It too has seen success in the US market, being approved by the FDA in July last year leading to shares taking off.

Others radiology stocks are Optiscan (ASX:OIL), Capitol Health (ASX:CAJ) and Integral Diagnostics (ASX:IDX).

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Osteopore is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.