Medical Applications

Advanced ceramics fabrication for medical

The medical sector can benefit from a wide variety of advantages regarding ceramics such as inertness, non-toxicity, hardness, high compressive strength, low friction coefficient; resistance to wear and other chemicals; sterility; customizable porosity; excellent aesthetics as well as durability. Ceramic composites, nanostructured materials and processing methods such as hot isostatic pressing help overcome this brittleness of ceramics. Apart from this, ceramic coatings are also used where dependence is to be put on the mechanical strengths and toughness of the substrate.

Bioceramics

Bioceramics is a family of ceramic materials used to restore and replace damaged bone structure. They are known to have many advantages such as biocompatibility, nontoxicity, dimensional stability and most importantly bioinertness during endodontic procedures.

Surgical implants: Bioceramics are primarily used as implants for bulk, coating or filler applications in a medical setting. Bioceramic implants play a role in a variety of orthopedic surgical procedures including hip and knee replacements, implants during joint surgeries, craniomaxillofacial procedures (which restore the function and appearance of the face and skull), spinal tissue repair, among others. With the aging global population, bioceramics have become increasingly accepted.

Dental Systems

According to studies, ceramic materials are widely used in dentistry such as orthodontic devices (braces), prostheses (crowns & bridges) and implants (all-ceramic root implants).

Commonly used dental ceramic systems include silica, leucite, lithium disilicate, alumina and zirconia. These materials have high toughness, strength, fatigue resistance, wear resistance as well as biocompatibility. In addition, the aesthetic advantages provided by ceramic materials are significant compared to classic metal products since they can compatibly imitate the natural color of teeth.

Instruments and Tools

Some of the main uses for ceramics in medical instruments and tools include tissue engineering scaffolds, medical pumps, blood shear valves used to measure hematology data, drug delivery devices, piezoelectric components used for a majority of medical tools and instruments available today such as ultrasound machines, ceramic-to-metal assemblies that make imaging equipment possible. Moreover, ceramic particles and microspheres have been emerged to serve as a carrier of cancer radiotherapy and other targeted therapies.