Orthopedic implants, production

Toxicity of products released by three alloys for orthopedic implants 185... 

Biodegradability is often an important consideration in the development of biomedical, pharmaceutical, and agricultural products for a number of applications. Biodegradable polymers have been formulated for uses such as controlled release and drug-delivery devices, surgical sutures, scaffolds for tissue regeneration, vascular grafts and stents, artificial skin, and orthopedic implants. 

The low production costs, stability, and the efficiency of these cells has generated renewed interest in many groups around the world [6-15]. The added advantages of these cells are availability and nontoxicity of the main component that is Ti02, which is even used in paints, cosmetics, and health care products like hip joints and other orthopedic implants. 

Orthopedic manufacturers are responsible for which of the following decisions during UHMWPE implant production ... 

There are also some start-ups or joint ventures dedicated to commercializing the technologies that create surface nanopattems or nanoroughness on currently used orthopedic implants. For instance, companies like Nanovis, Inc. (Indiana, US), have developed or patented a variety of surface patterning or roughening techniques for orthopedic implants and plan to release new products in the next few years. However, most of their current efforts are in preclinical trials and/or obtaining the US FDA approval. 

Due to the maturation of fabrication materials and methods, ZrO transformation toughened nanoceramics have immense potential of commercialization for orthopedic use. In fact, the European Nanoker integrated project, operated since 2005, is dedicated to commercializing structural ceramic nanocomposites of ZrO and AI2O3 for resurfacing ceramic orthopedic implants such as hip resurfacing and unicondylar knee prostheses [85,100]. Prototypes of such resurfacing implants based on ceramic nanocomposites have been produced in the framework of the Nanoker project and launch of the products is planned. 

Since the homopolymer P(3HB) is a tough and brittle polymer, it has been copolymerized with P(3HV). The copolymer P(3HB-co-3HV) has greater potential as a biomaterial. Its Tg is between —5 and 20 °C, and its Tm is 80-160 °C depending upon the composition. It has been studied for use as a suture material, an orthopedic implant as well as an adhesion prevention film. It was first made commercially available by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) under the trade name Biopol , but now the product has been discontinued. Currently, Tepha (a spinoff from Metabolix Inc.) is actively engaged in developing biotextile products based on PH As. 

The main by-products obtained on degradation of PPF are propylene glycol and fumaric acid. Owing to its biocompatibilty, these products can be easily removed from the body. The main characteristic of PPF is injectabihty into the body. The polymer becomes easy to handle as it is in the Hquid form before cross-linking. It can also easily produce asymmetrically formed implants by injection molding. This characteristic makes it appropriate for the orthopedic implant in minimally persistent procedures [15]. 

The ability to undergo biodegradation producing nontoxic by-products is a useful property for some medical applications. Biodegradable polymers [71] have been formulated for uses such as sutures, vascular grafts, drug delivery devices, and scaffolds for tissue regeneration, artihcial skin, orthopedic implants, and others. The polymers commonly known in the medical field for such applications include poly(a-hydroxy esters), poly(e-caprolactone), poly(ortho esters), polyanhydrides, poly(3— hydroxybutyrate), polyphosphazenes, polydioxanones, and polyoxalates (see Chapter 2 of Industrial Polymers, Specialty Polymers, and Their Applications). 

Orthopedics has recognized the importance of measuring outcomes in terms of quality-adjusted life-years instead of length of implant survival.Similarly, pharmacy must implement software documentation solutions that facilitate outcomes monitoring beyond cost savings. Software is needed with the ability to calculate, in a cost-benefit analysis, the clinical impact of pharmacist interventions as they affect therapeutic, financial, and humanistic outcomes. The current array of products could be better integrated into documentation software to facilitate tabulation of these data. With the power of the Internet to manipulate data in a dynamic database, it would even be possible for hospitals to compare their outcomes on a local, regional, or national basis. Furthermore, the database could... 

MAJOR USES Used in the production of titanium metal, titanium pigments, iridescent glass, artificial pearls and smoke screens implant material in orthopedics, oral surgery and neurosurgery laboratory reagent. 

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