RESEARCH OVERVIEW

Illustrative examples of knee and hip implants made by using additive manufacturing technique

When a part of the body stops working, either because of disease or trauma, implants made of biomaterials can be used as replacements. The material choice is not trivial, and depending on what the material is meant to replace, e.g. a piece of bone or a knee joint, there are different requirements on its chemical and mechanical properties. The material needs to be biocompatible, i.e. have the ability to perform with an appropriate host response in a specific situation. This can appear to be a vague definition, but it is a reflection of the importance of putting the material into context in order to evaluate its function. That is, biomaterials need to be evaluated in terms of their function in their system as far as possible, and we put great weight on this in our research.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The BioMaterial Systems Group focuses on the study, development and characterization of new materials and implant designs, mainly for orthopaedic applications, in their systems. Focus lies on injectable materials as well as materials and implant design development through additive manufacturing (3D-printing). We also develop and characterize wear-resistant materials for joint applications. Experimental and computational (e.g. FE) models are used to study the materials and implant/tissue interactions, also inside micro-CTs. Early biocompatibility studies may be done within the group, while when moving further towards the clinical application and/or commercial product, collaborations with e.g. Uppsala University Hospital are employed, in particular with the OrthoLab and the Biomaterials for Trauma Groups. 

The BMS group performs an indisciplinary research and work within the following competence fields:

  • Materials development 
  • Mechanics 
  • Biology

Here you can watch Cecilia's pitch about BMS group research activity (in Swedish).


BMS GROUP RESEARCH PROJECTS:

A Computed Tomography (CT) scan of the intervertebral disc before and after soft cement injection (image by Salim Ghandour)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Prof. Cecilia Persson is now Guest Editor for Materials' Special Issue on Additive Manufacturing of Biomaterials. In this Special Issue, the focus is on the development, design, and characterization of additively manufactured biomaterials. This includes new polymers, ceramics, metals, as well as composites, specifically developed for use as biomaterials.

Please, consider submitting your paper here:https://www.mdpi.com/journal/materials/special_issues/biomaterial_AM_3D-printing

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2021.


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

Last modified: 2023-06-09