Honeycomb structures PEEK into 'smart' implants

This is the claim of a Glasgow University-led team of engineers who have used 3D printing techniques to add new properties to PEEK (polyether ether ketone), which is known for its mechanical properties and resistance to high temperatures and chemicals. Their findings are published in Materials & Design.

The team added microscale carbon fibres to their cellular PEEK structures, giving the usually non-conductive material the ability to carry an electric charge.

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According to Glasgow University, they wanted to investigate whether damaging their electro-conductive cellular PEEK composite would affect its electrical resistance. If so, it could give the new material the ability to ‘self-sense’, which would allow a hip implant to report when its conductivity has changed, indicating that it has worn down and needs to be replaced.

To test their design’s self-sensing ability, they used 3D printing to create a hexagonal structure, a cross-shaped chiral structure, and a six-sided re-entrant design using the carbon-fibre PEEK material and conventional PEEK.