Fibrous implantable medical devices material biocompatibility

Material biocompatibility of fibrous implantable medical devices... 

In this chapter we have chosen not to focus on specific examples of smart textiles application in order to avoid narrowing the field of smart implantable fibrous medical devices to a few innovative textile properties. Contrariwise, fiber characteristics are pointed out to show that all of them, in a prospective designing approach, could achieve smart features in the implantable device area. However, we are limited in exploratory areas using new materials because a decline is needed to be certain that a material is accepted by the body. Given the diversity of appreciation of smart appearance, as well as the implantable medical device aspect, we have focused on the biocompatibility and biointegration of substitutes in their environment. This theme therefore needs to be complemented by other approaches such as the concepts of smart attitude and implantable device as related in Fig. 13.1. 

In the medical device community, the surface of a material is extremely important because it is what is in contact with the body. For example, the components of implants may be plasma treated to make their surfaces more biocompatible, which reduces cell adhesion and the formation of fibrous tissue around the implant. Implantable metal devices are often passivated to make the device resistant to corrosion when subjected to the aqueous environment inside the body. 

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