When it comes to 3D printing, the sky is the limit. As 3D printing technology continues to advance, applications can be as far reaching as airplane and automobile parts to medical devices and even anatomically correct, biocompatible models. Although 3D printing technology is developing at a rapid pace, the technology itself is not new. It emerged in the 1980s as a means of creating rapid prototypes. In recent years the applications for 3D printed models have evolved with the available hardware, software, and printable materials. Evolving technology, paired with the creative and innovative minds of scientists, engineers, and physicians, has been the launching pad for developments within 3D printing technology specific to healthcare. One way 3D printing technology is poised to create better patient outcomes is in creating an anatomically and patient-specific models to aid in surgery and medical procedures. With the capability to 3D ...
When the versatility of polymers meets medical innovation, the results can seem miraculous – patients have painful joints replaced, and doctors treat vertebral injuries once thought untreatable. Right now, bone cement – commonly polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) – helps make those life-altering treatments possible for thousands of patients every year. But as amazing as PMMA is, we can do even better – and researchers around the world continue to work toward safer, more effective fillers and bonders for bone-related treatments. 
Although more of a grout than a cement, PMMA is a self-curing, two-component (liquid and powder) polymer. PMMA has proven valuable in securing implants such as artificial knees and hips to adjacent bone. When medications, such as heat-resistant antibiotics, are added to the powder component of the polymer, the bone cement can deliver much-needed drugs to a surgical or procedure site[1]. PMMA bone cement is also used in percutaneous vertebroplastay, a spinal procedure that treats osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures with percutaneous injection of PMMA into the affected vertebra. As the American population continues to age, doctors likely will be performing many more of these procedures; vertebral compression fractures are the most common complication of osteoporosis[2], an age-related degeneration of bone.
While approved by the FDA and widely used in numerous successful procedures every year, PMMA bone cement isn’t without risks. In addition to typical complications like adverse tissue reaction, infection and pain that can result from a variety of medical procedures, PMMA can present complications for health-care practitioners during and after procedures. The polymer may loosen over time and pull away from the adjacent bone or implant, the final cured cement may shrink, heat generated during curing may damage surrounding tissue, or the stiffness and hardness of the cured polymer may not be a good match for adjacent bone. What’s more, because PMMA bone cement usually cures and hardens within minutes, doctors have a limited window of time in which to apply the cement to the targeted area. Timing is critical to achieve a successful outcome to treatment.
Polymer experts and medical researchers continue to look for innovative materials that can improve health-care outcomes. One area of exploration is focusing on calcium phosphate bone cements (CPCs). It’s thought that the calcium in CPCs will be a more natural match for bone, could prove to be resorbable, and promote better regrowth of existing bone[3].
Polymer Solutions, Inc. has the expertise to support research in the field of medical polymers with polymer testing and analysis. Bone cements continue to be an important tool to help doctors effectively treat a range of joint and bone issues, and the collaboration of polymer researchers and health-care professionals is making such treatments safer, more effective and even more miraculous!
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