The Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP, one of the leading R&D partners for thin-film technologies, applications of electron beams, and surface treatments, together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU, a center for development of medical technology component and production processes, have merged their expertise in order to advance a new generation of medical implants. The first results of this partnership will be presented by the two Institutes at the annual conference of the German Society for Biomedical Engineering (DGBMT) in Dresden on September 10-13, 2017.
Implants are routinely employed in hospitals and dental practices daily. They are technologically mature and offer support for people in many different ways. The interventions themselves are burdensome for the patient and continue to be fraught with risks.Researchers of the Fraunhofer FEP and IWU are working jointly on developing life-long implants in order to extend the service life of these components in the body.“The Fraunhofer IWU conducts research on materials that have morphological memories – they remember and return to their original shape after deformation – such as used in vascular stents,” explains Christian Rotsch, head of the Medical Engineering department at Fraunhofer IWU. “These are materials that are able to resume their prior shape once triggered by a thermal stimulus.”The advanced incremental fabrication process known as 3D printing, allowing personalized, patient-specific solutions to be realized, is also a research focus at Fraunhofer IWU. At the same time, this process allows hermetically sealed, active components to be integrated. Non-invasive external control over the implant thereby becomes feasible for the patient – without medical intervention. As part of the development of these components and the necessary technology for integrating them, Fraunhofer IWU is working together closely with scientists of the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS.Every individual reacts differently to an implant. In order to facilitate improved engraftment and minimize complications, surface properties of the implants can be enhanced. Implants must be robust and biologically compatible with cells in order to be able to remain in extended service and not be rejected by the body. This is where the surface treatment expertise of the Fraunhofer FEP finds application. A stable barrier to prevent the diffusion of ions or other cytotoxic constituents can be achieved through suitable coating and modification of many substrate materials, for example.“Implants containing nickel are coated and modified in a way that prevents allergies from being triggered in patients, and additionally that cell growth on specific areas of the surface can be selectively promoted or hindered,” explains Gaby Gotzmann, Project Manager in the Medical Applications Group at Fraunhofer FEP. “Biological functionalization through the utilization of low-energy electron-beam technology has proven to be especially advantageous in comparison to prior processes, since temporally stable effects can be attained with e-beams. Moreover, this technology is suitable as well for sterilization of medical surfaces and components, whereby implants with integrated electronic components and delicate constituent materials are able to be safely and thoroughly sterilized.”Because the technologies described here are application- and substrate-specific, all processes must be adapted and matched to new potential applications. The Fraunhofer FEP and IWU Institutes offer development of application-specific coating and surface modification technologies – from lab-based proof-of-concept through to complete system solutions including hardware development for industrial and scientific partnering organizations.The Fraunhofer IWU and FEP Institutes are partners in the Fraunhofer Lighthouse project to develop pivotal technologies for medically approved theranostic implants.