Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 30

Bioactive Glass and Metal Implants Dissolve at the End
of Operational Lifespan
The devices eliminate the
need for invasive removal
once they have served
their purpose.
Missouri S&T, Rolla, MO
Medical devices made of bioactive glasses
and metals that dissolve at the end of
their operational lifespan could replace
other types of implants and eliminate the
need for invasive removal once they have
served their purpose, say researchers at
Missouri S&T. The researchers recently
received a patent for their implant.
" Glass is an excellent material for
packaging and substrate layers in
implanted solid-state devices including
sensors and actuators, " says Dr. ChangSoo
Kim, professor and graduate co -
ordinator of electrical engineering at
Missouri S&T. " Depending on the combination
of materials, you can develop a
bioactive glass that degrades very slowly
or very quickly, based on the required
operational time for the device. "
As lead researcher on the project, Kim
worked with Dr. Richard Brow, Curators'
Distinguished Professor of ceramic engineering
and interim deputy provost for
academic excellence at Missouri S&T; and
Dr. Delbert Day, Curators' Distinguished
Professor emeritus of ceramic engineering
and inventor of bioactive glasses for cancer
treatment, bone tissue regeneration, and
wound healing. Kim designed the electrical
functions of the devices, and Brow and
Day designed the glasses used in the
implants. Dr. Matthew O'Keefe, a former
professor of metallurgical engineering at
S&T, also contributed to the research.
The resorbable implants benefit pa -
tients, Kim says, because they eliminate the
need for additional surgery to remove a
sensor or other functional device after it is
no longer needed. He says that is especially
important because biodegradable de -
vices are designed to be implanted in the
brain or other organs deep inside the
body. Kim says the implants can also be
used for drug delivery or tissue healing.
" Bioactive glasses are a unique strength
of Missouri S&T, " says Dr. Costas Tsat -
soulis, vice chancellor of research and
graduate studies at S&T. " Since Dr. Day
received a patent in 2002 for glass micro -
spheres used in radiation therapy, new
bioactive glasses have played an important
role in healing and medical therapy. "
The implant patent is available for
licensing through Missouri S&T's Tech -
nology Transfer and Economic Devel -
opment office.
For more information, visit https://news.
Dr. Chang-Soo Kim and his research team at Missouri S&T have received a patent for resorbable
medical implants that are used for diagnosis and treatment. The implants are produced with bioactive
glass and metals and are the first resorbable implants to use inorganic materials. Photo note:
Amber/yellow lighting is used in the lab to prevent degradation of photosensitive chemicals used during
device fabrication. (Credit: Michael Pierce, Missouri S&T)
mst.edu. For more information on licensing,
contact John Woodson, interim director of
technology transfer and economic development,
at 573-341-7544 or e-mail jwoodson@
mst.edu.
First Steerable Catheter Developed for Brain Surgery
The device was inspired by
nature, specifically insect
legs and flagella.
UCSD, San Diego, CA
A team of engineers and physicians
has developed a steerable catheter that
for the first time will give neurosurgeons
the ability to steer the device in any direction
they want while navigating the
brain's arteries and blood vessels. The
device was inspired by nature, specifically
30
Intro
Cov
insect legs and flagella - tail-like structures
that allow microscopic organisms
such as bacteria to swim.
The team from the University of
California San Diego describes the breakthrough
in a recent issue of Science Robotics.
The steerable catheter was successfully
tested in pigs at the Center for the
Future of Surgery at UC San Diego.
Approximately one in 50 people in
the United States has an unruptured
intracranial aneurysm - a thin-walled,
blister-like lesion on a cerebral artery
www.medicaldesignbriefs.com
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that is prone to rupture. These kinds
of lesions affect over 160 million people
worldwide, half of them under the
age of 50. Of patients that suffer ruptured
aneurysms, more than half die.
Half of the survivors experience longterm
disabilities. Studies show that a
quarter of cases cannot be operated on
because of how difficult the aneurysms
are to reach.
" As a neurosurgeon, one of the challenges
that we have is directing
catheters to the delicate, deep recesses
Medical Design Briefs, October 2021
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Medical Design Briefs - October 2021

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