Bio-materials and Prototyping Applications in Medicine

Rapid prototyping (RP) is used to design, develop and manufacture medical devices and instrumentation, as well as by surgeons to plan complex operations. Focusing on bio-materials and prototyping applications in medical environments, this book discusses the applications that will integrate bio-materials, CAD, and physical prototyping techniques.

Rapid prototyping (RP) technology is becoming more and more prevalent in medicine. RP is used to design, develop and manufacture medical devices and instrumentation, to fabricate drug dosage forms, and is being used by surgeons to plan complex operations, especially craniofacial and maxillofacial area. RP shows the most promise in the area of tissue engineering through the use of bio-materials. The research that is being conducted now is showing great promise in the area of direct manufacture of biologically active implants. The proposed book will focus on bio-materials and the prototyping applications in medical environments. The applications that are discussed will integrate bio-materials, CAD, and physical prototyping techniques.

Introduction to Bio-Materials.- Metallic and ceramic biomaterials: current &
future developments.- Polyurethane based materials with applications in medical devices.- Rapid prototyping of hydrogels to guide tissue formation.- Engineered scaffold architecture influences soft tissue regeneration.- Customised implants for bone replacement and growth.- Direct digital manufacturing of complex dental prostheses.- Digital design and fabrication in dentistry.- The development of an artificial finger joint.- Computer-aided development of mega endoprostheses.