A two-and-a-half-year-old girl is the youngest person to have received a bioengineered organ — a windpipe in this case — that was made from plastic fibers and human cells. The successful transplant of the synthetic windpipe on the girl, a Korean-Canadian named Hannah Warren, may give regenerative medicine a huge boost. The surgery, which took [...]
Polymer Membrane Speeds Healing of Bone Breaks
March 22, 2013 By 1 Comment
People who suffer bad bone breaks or have chronic spine and craniofacial conditions may eventually have those problems heal much faster, if a human clinical trial produces good results. An Israeli company has made a polymer membrane implant that heals broken bones 40% faster than traditional methods. The company, RegeneCure, based in Jerusalem, tested the [...]
Polymer, 3-D Printing Build Skull Implant
March 11, 2013 By 1 Comment
Remember Grandpa Joe, who got a steel plate in his head after being hit with shrapnel during World War II? If Grandpa Joe had the same injury today, he’d probably get a polymer-based custom-fit replacement made with a three-dimensional printer for that steel plate. The implant technology developed by Oxford Performance Materials, based in South [...]
Coating Improves Polymer’s Use in Surgeries
February 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Scientists from North Carolina State University (NCSU) have figured out how to make a polymer that is highly regarded and used in many applications work with fewer complications as a surgical implant, including for spinal surgeries. The high-performance polymer often used for these implants – polyetheretherketone, or PEEK – is preferred over metallic biomaterials for [...]
One Polymer System, Many Functions
November 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Polymer scientists at the University of Akron have discovered a one-size-fits-all polymer system that can be modified to perform various functions, from fighting infection to filtering water. The researchers found a way to attach bioactive molecules to an electrospun polymer without compromising how the former molecules function biologically. Medical device manufacturers and clinicians should be [...]
Thin Medical Device Dissolves in Water
November 15, 2012 By 1 Comment
Sliced thin enough, just about any material is pliable. Sliced thin enough, just about any material can dissolve in water. This was the concept put to medical use by researchers from Indiana University, and Northwestern and Tufts universities, who have developed medical devices that, when placed into the human body, will dissolve because of internal [...]
Medical Device Would Allow for Surgery in Zero Gravity, Space
November 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment
This falls under the “They’ve Thought of Everything” category: When you need surgery but the nearest operating room with gravity is back on Earth, you can use this new medical device to conduct zero-gravity surgery while you continue your space mission. Seriously. NASA is planning trips to Mars, journeys that will take months. So what [...]
Polymers Construct Injured Tendons, Meniscus
August 9, 2012 By 4 Comments
Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania have developed a technology that uses polymers to construct a composite nanofibrous scaffold on which cells can colonize to repair torn tendons and ligaments. Many laboratories have developed treatments for ligament tears in knees, rotator cuff injuries, and Achilles tendon ruptures using scaffolds from nano-size fibers. However, the fibers’ [...]
Sugar Polymer Used in Surgical Device
July 31, 2012 By 1 Comment
Two Alabama doctors have developed a medical device using sugar-based polymers that could help separate and support tissues during surgery, and help the wound to heal. The proprietary membranes are composed of dense chitosan, a natural and non-toxic sugar polymer that is usually prepared from the chitin shells of shrimp, according to a press release [...]
Bipolymer Microthreads Regenerate Human Tissue
May 2, 2012 By 1 Comment
American researchers are developing a system that uses microthreads to regenerate human tissue and heal wounds. George Pins, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts, got the idea of using microthreads as the basis for tissue engineering when he wanted to find a better way to repair torn anterior cruciate [...]
