World-first research hub for child blast injuries to support Ukraine war victims

The world’s first hub for child blast injury research has been opened in London – with an immediate focus on providing support to victims in Ukraine. The Centre For Paediatric Blast Injury Studies, a partnership between Imperial College London and Save The Children, will focus on reducing pain in children with limb loss and developing new prosthetics. Almost 1,000 recorded casualties among children in Ukraine have been caused by explosive weapons, with actual numbers expected to be considerably higher. More than 250,000 explosive devices have already been removed and destroyed since the conflict began in February last year. Anthony Bull, centre director and professor of musculoskeletal mechanics at Imperial College London, said: “Children are not just small adults, they’re small human beings who have a very different physiology, very different behaviour, so they get influenced in a significantly different way than adults by blast injury."