“An implant is a medical device manufactured to replace a missing biological structure, support a damaged biological structure, or enhance an existing biological structure. Medical implants are artificial devices, in contrast to a transplant, which is a transplanted biomedical tissue. The surface of implants that contact the body might be made of a biomedical material such as titanium, silicone or apatite depending on which is the most functional. In some cases implants contain electronics e.g. artificial pacemaker and cochlear implants. Some implants are bioactive, such as subcutaneous drug delivery devices in the form of implantable pills or drug-eluting stents.”

(Wikipedia, Implants, 11/19/2010)

The Implant is a dynamic area for plastics.  The formability and adaptability as well as compoundability and bonding make plastics almost the ideal material for implant development.  If there is ever a growth area for plastics it is medical implants and there doesn't seem likely this will change any time soon.  (RDC 11/19/2010)

Applications    
Artificial Muscles

Hernia Repair
Intraocular Lenses  
Medicine   

Neural Implants
Orthopedic Implants
Retina Implants  
Stents  
Vascular Implants   

 

Recent US Patents

9/28/2010
7,803,178
Inflatable porous implants and methods for drug delivery

Whirley and Shapiro of TriVascular have developed inflatable porous implants, such as grafts, stent-grafts, and bladders to deliver drugs over a long time.  (RDC 12/7/2010)