If you can remember things in 2000 years ago, it is estimated that most people have the memory of their elders with gold teeth. This is the most common application of metal materials to repair our bodies. Today we’re going to talk about what kinds of metals are used in medicine.
Indispensable metal repair
In recent years, macromolecular and composite materials seem to be the favorite in the field of medicine, such as dental fillings. In the past, there were fewer large gold teeth, which were filled with light-cured resin instead. However, metal materials have their irreplaceable side, which makes them have a lot of applications in diagnosing, treating, replacing, repairing and even enhancing people’s functions. Moreover, with the increasing attention paid to 3D metal printing, metal materials that used to be difficult to process or customized are gaining a new life.
Memory alloys and precious metals
When I was a child, in the 1980s, it was in science illustrated. The properties of the alloy are that the shape is remembered at a certain temperature, and once that temperature is reached, it is immediately restored to its pre-memory state. Currently, nickel-titanium alloy is the main memory alloy, and the core of application is cardiovascular stent. The stent is compressed into a thin tube before being placed in the body. It is then placed in a predetermined position through the blood vessels of the limbs, propping up the heart vessels. As mentioned above, the main metal is nickel, so the surface treatment is very demanding, because improper treatment of nickel ions into the body can cause a lot of problems.
Stethoscopes look unremarkable, many of them platinum in order not to cause skin allergies
The most common precious metals are silver, gold, and platinum. These materials are characterized by high inertia and no chemical reactions. Therefore, they are often used in parts requiring long-term implantation and repair, such as gold teeth, which can be used in the environment with certain digestive enzymes in the mouth without affecting their luster. In addition, the structures of tantalum, niobium and zirconium are similar to those of titanium and are generally used as part of titanium alloy repair parts. But these metals are expensive and cannot be used in large quantities.
Medical metal and 3D printing
Due to personal development, each person is not quite the same. In the past, products of different sizes and specifications could only be produced to suit different people. But today, in the form of high-energy sintered alloy powder, such as laser and electron flow, and protected by inert gas during sintering, these customized parts can be made. These customized parts are better than traditional forging in both physical characteristics and physical performance.
Medical 3D printing is in the spring
Now the country has adopted the management method of metal patch implantation in hospitals customized with metal sintering technology, and the whole industry is embracing the spring. Now with medical metal parts, the cost of 3D customization is coming down. In some hospitals, there have been numerous reports of patients being replaced with custom-made 3d-printed patches if their bodies are not fit for standard specifications.