Implantable medical devices challenges

But the biggest challenge is related to the complexity and demands of implantable medical devices for tissue engineering. It seems necessary to consider broad interdisciplinary cooperation covering all areas to converge into targeted and specific solutions to pathology. 

In this book, a few applications of responsive materials and surfaces are explored, which include cell culture and tissue engineering (Chapter 9), drug delivery and diagnostic systems (Chapter 10), implantable medical devices and biosensors (Chapter 11). These areas were chosen not only because they have huge economic value, but also involve challenges during the development toward applications. 

Systemic antibiotic treatment is a very common medical procedure all over the world. Nevertheless, it presents certain limitations and drawbacks, such as systemic toxicity, poor penetration in certain tissues, and poor control of local drug levels. Additionally, in the case of implantable medical devices, if bacteria (typically 5. aureus, S. epider-midis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. colt, etc. ) adhere and proliferate, colonizing the implant surface and forming a biofilm, the patient may develop an infection despite systemic antibiotic treatment, which may lead to the rejection or removal of the implant (Fig. 10). Actually, an implant represents a challenge to the immune system. 

Technology Advances and Challenges in Hermetic Packaging for Implantable Medical Devices... 

Many issues associated with hermetic packaging have yet to be completely understood, let alone overcome. The continued miniaturization of future implantable medical devices provides both opportunities and challenges for packaging/materials engineers to improve the current packaging methods and to develop new methods. Reliable hermetic micropackaging technologies are the key to a wide utilization of MEMS in miniaturized implantable medical devices. 

The protection of microelectronics from the effects of humidity and corrosive environments presents especially demanding requirements on protective coatings and encapsulants. Silicone polymers, epoxies, and imide resins are among the materials that have been used for the encapsulation of microelectronics. The physiological environment to which implanted medical electronic devices are exposed poses an especially challenging protection problem. In this volume, Troyk et al. outline the demands placed on such systems in medical applications, and discuss the properties of a variety of silicone-based encapsulants. 

Implant and device manufacturers are increasingly being faced with the challenge of proving that their implants or devices are safe/biocompatible and perform as expected. This book describes and explains the factors that influence the biocompatibility of materials and medical devices, the methods to predict or screen biocompatibility, how to build a biological safety evaluation plan for medical devices, strategies and tactics in biocompatibility and biological performance evaluation of medical devices. 

In spite of progress achieved, serious challenges remain to acquire a clear and full understanding of potential fiber implications in the field of implantable medical textiles. The product stmcture—property relationship is an important research field. We must be able to mimic native mechanical and stmctural parameters to best suit our devices. We can thus adapt the mechanical parameters to specific applications. Regarding tissue engineering, it remains to develop efficient manufacturing processes for the preparation of fibrous scaffolding. 

Medical devices such as catheters, implants, and prosthetics are continuously challenged in bacterial environments. Eor example, C VC s total number of days of insertion for all patients is estimated to be 15 million in intensive care unit in the United States every year [161], One potential risk of CVC utilization is catheter-related bloodstream... 

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