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Greetings Biomaterials Afficionados!

Greetings, and Welcome!
This blog is the outcome of all the excellent critique, and sometimes nasty comments I have received from my students as part of the evaluations of my Biomaterials class at Stony Brook University. I taught undergraduate and graduate-level Biomaterials courses for ten years (between 2008 and 2018). For the first few years, it was a one-semester graduate-level class. I then started offering it over two semesters for junior and senior undergraduates. Since then, I have replaced my academic hat with an entrepreneurial cap. However, I intend to continue to blog about All Things Biomaterials!

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When Flintstone Age Dentists Used Flint Drills

One of the early uses of materials in humans was in dentistry. Neanderthals and modern humans used toothpicks made of wood or bones. Even before humans started farming 10,000-15,000 years ago, more sophisticated forms of tooth-digging methods using sharp objects made of Flint were explored.

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The Sulzer Recall

In 2000, Sulzer Orthopedics noticed higher than normal revision surgeries on their InterOpAcetabular Shell. The shell was held to the pelvis with screws, yet these sockets started to loosen. Patients experienced persistent and sharp groin pain due to this loosening and were unable to bear their weight on the leg that had the implant. Approximately 25,000 shells were affected. 17,500 of these were already implanted in patients. Following weeks of investigation of patients record, surgical techniques, and the product itself, the company ordered a recall. Sulzer eventually agreed to $1 billion settlement with affected patients.

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