Materials
The right material for the right purpose
Our patient-specific medical implants are made from one of four different materials. This broad spectrum of long term implantable biomaterials allows the implant to reconstruct almost any osseous defects - from implant which restores aesthetics to implant that carries loads.
All our medical implants meet the requirements of Medical Devices Directive 93/42/ECC.
Materials comparison
| Titanium | PMMA | PEEK | UHMWPE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing cost |   | | | |
| Mechanical strength | | | | |
| Degree of osseointegration | | | | |
| Image artifacts occuring | | | | |
| Intraoperative implant modification | | | | |
Titanium
Titanium and its alloys are one of the most popular materials used for the production of medical implants, because of its light weight, hight strength, highly biocompatibility and very good osseointegration. Titanium implants do not interfere with computed tomography imaging and magnetic resonance imaging procedures.
Titanium 6Al4V (Grade 5) and 6Al4V ELI (Grade 23) are standard titanium alloys used for the manufacture of medical implants. There is also possibility to manufacture individual implant from pure titanium (Grade 2).
SOLID Implant
This implant has solid structure and is used for junction of damaged bone structures like for example anatomical shaped reconstruction plates. Another type of application are cases in which porosity and high degree of body integration are not desirable.
MESH Implant
Implant with porous structure which is a scaffold composed of interconnected titanium bars forming a three-dimentional structure. Between the bars there is an empty space within which they can proliferate osteoblast. Research over the past years confirm a very good integration of the implant with a porous structure due to the ingrowth of bone into the implant.
HYBRID Implant
Hybrid implant is combination of solid implant with mesh implant. The outside layer is made of the solid material and the inside of implant has porous structure. This type of implant combines advantages of the solid implant and the mesh implant. The porosity allow fluid transport, which allows the proliferation of cells inside the implant and their full integration with the metal bone scaffold. The solid outside layer increases its mechanical strength.
PMMA
Medical grade of PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) is suitable for manufacturing medical implants. Its good biocompatibility was confirmed by over 40 years of clinical applications. PMMA has very high optical transparency and radiopacity. Implants made from PMMA allow to obtain excellent cosmetic results.
Medical grade of PMMA is widely used for craniomaxillofacial reconstruction, in orthopedics procedures (as bone cement) and in the spine surgery.
PEEK
PEEK (polieteroeteroketone) is highly biocompatible material with very good mechanical parameters, which are very similar to that of the bone skeleton. This material is naturally abrasion resistant, has low coefficient of friction and chemical stability. PEEK is transparent to X-rays and there are no artifacts created in CT images.
PEEK is mostly used in a range of medical implant applications like craniomaxillofacial reconstruction, orthopedics procedures and in the spine surgery.
UHMWPE
UHMWPE (ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene) is one of the most popular material used in orthopedics for manufacturing hip, knee or spine implants. UHMWPE is resistant to fatigue and abrasion and has very good biocompatibility according to other polymers.