Grant number: 0078/L-11/2019
Project Principal Investigator: Michał Gloc from the Warsaw University of Technology
Project funding: PLN 1,388,750
Project status: Project in progress
The project concentrates on developing a modern technology for producing a new generation of titanium implants to stabilize bone fractures. The critical element of the project is the production of biocompatible composite plates and rods made of pure titanium (Ti-CP) used for bone reconstruction, using a unique and innovative method of explosive deformation. Thanks to the technology, the developed medical devices will be distinguished by unique biocompatibility, lack of alloying elements, high mechanical strength, and lower weight. Costs of materials will be reduced due to the application of pure titanium (Ti-CP). Titanium strength will be obtained without the need to use alloying elements, so there will be the lack of the need to use expensive, scarce and cytotoxic elements such as aluminum, niobium, tantalum or zirconium, and at the same time will significantly increase the utility feature, which is biocompatibility. Increased No. of the competition in which the project was previously submitted No. of the previously submitted application X 0065/L-10/2018, the strength obtained by deformation with an explosion will contribute to the reduction of the diameter of the screws, and thus to the reduction of the diameter of the holes drilled in the bone, necessary for attaching the implants. This will reduce bone destruction and increase bone stability and the recovery rate in the case of temporary implants. The faster process of osseointegration (connecting the implant with the bone) reduces septic (bacterial) inflammations that may occur during and/or after the implantation of the material into the bone. In the case of implants implanted for life (e.g., in the elderly), an additional surface treatment will be applied, allowing for increased surface development and attachment of naturally occurring hydroxyapatite in bone tissue, which will contribute to improving bone integrity. To confirm the unique properties of the obtained product, tests will be carried out using modern microscopic, mechanical and biological research techniques.
