Smart materials and plastics in clinical use
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Image: a stent clamped in an apparatus and illuminated from above; Copyright: PantherMedia / Alexpunker (YAYMicro)

Special May 2022

Smart materials and plastics in clinical use

A wide range of different materials are used in medical technology. Some of them are considered "smart materials". They are given this name because of various properties that are added to them in the manufacturing process. You can find out what these can be in the interviews in our Special in May.

Nitinol: highly complex, yet super-elastic and enormously variable
Image: braided nitinol sheath for e.g. a stent, placed in a knot; Copyright: PantherMedia / Sonja Wittke

Nitinol is perhaps the best-known shape memory alloy (SMA). Like most smart materials, the metal alloy of nickel and titanium is very versatile and can be used in a variety of applications. Gerd Siekmeyer at Acquandas GmbH knows all about the applications for Nitinol and the respective manufacturing processes.
Read the Interview with Gerd Siekmeyer here

Custom-made implants: osteoconductive filament for 3D printed implants
Image: Spool against a light background, on which the filament is rolled up; Copyright: Evonik
Evonik recently expanded its product line to include VESTAKEEP® iC4800 3DF, a new osteoconductive PEEK filament that improves fusion between bone and implants. COMPAMED.de wanted to know what makes this new filament so unique and asked Marc Knebel, Head of the Medical Systems Market Segment at Evonik.
Click here for the interview with Marc Knebel

Hydrogel patch

In future, a new patch could be used after intestinal surgery to prevent leakage into the abdominal cavity. In this video interview, Dr. Alexandre Anthis from ETH Zurich explains the advantages of the hydrogel patch, both from a medical and an economic point of view.

Source: COMPAMED-tradefair.com