A blog about Biomaterials, Implants, and Devices
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.
Continue reading “When Flintstone Age Dentists Used Flint Drills”
One of the most significant advances in modern surgery is in total joint replacement (TJR). Every year, surgeons perform hundreds of thousands of TJR surgeries. Material improvements have contributed significantly to this advancement.
We know various material types (e.g., metals, ceramics, polymers) can be used as raw materials to develop an implant or device. We also know composites comprise of more materials. The manufacturing processes shape and assemble the materials into the final product. Heating and cooling techniques are routinely employed during the manufacturing process to shape and deposit the materials. These techniques generate microstructures (typically visible only under a microscope) that play an important role in defining the final product properties. During material’s thermal processing, understanding the nature of phase transformations that give rise to various microstructures is crucial for control of final product properties. Central to this understanding of phase transformation is to have a good grasp of phase diagrams or “maps” for the design of processing methods. So let us delve a little bit more into phase transformation and phase diagrams.
Continue reading “The Map All Biomaterialists Should Understand”