The first company licensed to use the method was Germany's KLS-Martin SA (exhibitor at MEDICA). The first application of the patented technology has been approved in the U.S. and Europe for face and skull surgery since the end of 2005. The technology can also be used in spinal column surgery as well as in dental and sports medicine. With the SonicWeld Rx procedure of KLS Martin Group, the pin is made to vibrate by precisely defined ultrasound frequencies. When it is placed on a pre-drilled hole, the pin liquefies and penetrates hollow spaces that conventional screws cannot reach. The three-dimensional anchoring ensures maximum stability. Bone welding works in cancellous and cortical bone. The connection is stable within seconds. Nevertheless, the bone pin self-degrades completely. A second surgical intervention is not necessary. And: The implantation time is significantly shorter than for conventional resorbable implants. Moreover, there is no risk of implant fractures.

Resorbable metal implants: Magnesium and iron make it possible


So-called magnesium-based implants are almost the "latest rage" in bioresorbable implants. What's so special? Over time they dissolve through corrosion, but they are metal implants and, being different from other bioresorbable implants made of polymers, are very stable and therefore suitable for supporting functions. As implants made of Mg alloys have similar elasticity modules as bone tissue, there is no bone resorption at the implantation location. Attempts were made to use magnesium as implant material as early as the 19th century, for instance for blood vessel ligatures. However, no commercial magnesium-based or magnesium alloy products are available to date. Nevertheless, the positive developments raise hopes that the special properties of the light metal would benefit the clinical field, says Hanover implant researcher Professor Frank Witte, whose research won the Ministry of Education and Research prize for innovation in medical technology in 2009.

Currently, the research in metal-based bone replacement materials is primarily focused on magnesium-based materials, which are considered promising. But to date they do not possess the necessary mechanical properties and degrade too quickly. Researchers at LMU Munich, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology (exhibitor at COMPAMED) and InnoTERE GmbH Dresden have therefore developed a degradable iron-based alloy which in toxicological studies proved to be well-tolerated. However, it will be several years before such iron-based implants will be commercially available. What Sirris, the Belgian center of competence for the technology industry, has planned is also still a thing of the future: resorbable implants from a 3-D printer in conjunction with the quick-change artists amongst the cells: stem cells. It appears that the old adage "nature is the best engineer" still holds true.

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