|
 |
|
|
 |
Engineering the surface of medical implants can lead to enhanced and novel performance allowing surgical implants to better restore lost function and reduce pain. The next great wave of innovation and development for the implantable medical device sector will focus on such surface alteration. The ultimate goal is improved surgical outcomes and well-being for the patient and a more positive result for all stakeholders.
This relatively new area, which includes coatings, is known as Surface Modification. Examples include the addition of an osteoconductive coating to the surface of an orthopaedic implant which will result in better bone on-growth onto the metal surface. This means that a replacement hip will have a longer life and patients will need less revision surgery. Surface roughening of metal implants for bone applications has a similar effect. Addition of a long term antimicrobial coating to the surface of orthopaedic implants constitutes another example. |
Such added functionality would reduce if not eliminate the instances of infection or biofilm growth on the surface of such devices - a leading cause of revision surgery which is a much more serious and intrusive course of action that the initial procedure. Other examples of how the surface can be modified to change the interaction of the implant with its surroundings within the body include the addition of antiproliferative drugs to stop restenosis as in the case of drug eluting coronary stents or the addition of coatings to prevent surface corrosion and the consequent risk of implant rejection.
The surface modification of implants has already demonstrated its commercial viability with the resounding success of some implant products. Practically all non-cemented replacement hips and knees used today have an osteoconductive surface modification, namely a coating of Hydroxyapatite (HA). All coronary stents also have a drug eluting coating to stop restenosis which is the closing of the artery due to scaring. The drug eluting stent (DES) business has grown to over $5B in five years and it has totally eclipsed the market for non-coated stents. The CoBlast™ process offers a superior coating technology to the established approaches used in both of these markets.
The flexibility that the CoBlast™ process offers points to its ultimate potential. CoBlast™ makes it now possible for new and novel functionalities to be added to the surface of any metallic implants. EnBIO believes that this capability will lead to the development of new ideas and product concepts not heretofore considered. Some examples include the addition of therapeutic agents and biologics such as growth factors, osteosuppressive drugs, antiproliferatives, antibiotics, bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs), peptides etc. to implant surfaces. |
|
|
|
