Biomechanical study on implantable and interventional medical devices

Abstract: Implants, including artificial joints, bone fixation devices, and other orthopedic implants, oral implants, and vascular interventional devices, are used to repair or replace human tissues or organs and restore their functions. Since biodegradable implants have advantage of avoiding long-term complications (including bone stress shielding, restenosis, thrombosis, and secondary surgery) while remaining safe and productive, personalized biodegradable implants will be an irresistible trend in the clinic for implantable and interventional medical devices. However, innovation of personalized biodegradable implants faces several challenges, including the interaction between the implant and its surrounding tissues or cells, the coordination of structural strength of implants and its degradation, the topological microstructure of implant and its fatigue properties, reliability, and safety. In this review, we introduced critical progresses achieved in the fields related to implants, including mechanical properties of materials, interaction between implants and host tissue, effect of stress on degradation; furthermore, we highlighted the optimized design and manufacture of implants as well as the evaluation of their reliability. Graphic Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].