Improving implants

Tel Aviv University researcher Prof Noam Eliaz of the School of Mechanical Engineering has developed an electrochemical process for coating metal implants, which is claimed to improve their functionality, longevity and integration into the body.

The new process could enhance the lives of people who have undergone complicated total joint replacement surgeries so they can walk, run and ultimately avoid the rejection of the implant by their bodies.

Today's surgeons reconstruct joints in the human body using metal structures implanted to take the place of the natural joint. To better integrate the new addition to the adjacent bone, implants are often coated with synthetic hydroxyapatite, which is similar to the main inorganic constituent of enamel, dentin and vertebrate bone. The properties of this coating are crucial to the function and life of the implant in the body.

Prof Eliaz's advance is in the application technique of the coatings rather than the elements used in the coatings themselves. Instead of the traditional plasma-spraying technique, Eliaz and his team have developed a way to electrochemically deposit synthetic hydroxyapatite.