Carbon fiber composite materials are more and more widely used in the fields of diagnosis and treatment, health care and related medical devices. With the gradual increase of medical market demand, related carbon fiber medical materials are also constantly expanding and innovating in application methods and forms.
The research on medical carbon fiber materials began in the 1960s, when it was found that carbon fiber materials had excellent anticoagulant properties in the research on anticoagulant materials for artificial blood vessels.
Edison and his second gramophone in 1878
In 1879, the American inventor Edison used bamboo, flax or cotton yarn as raw materials to first obtain carbon fiber and obtain a patent.
In 1970, American J.C. Bocross applied pyrolytic carbon to metal surfaces for clinical use. Since then, carbon coating materials have been rapidly developed, and the use of carbon fiber materials as biomedical devices has been proposed for the manufacture of artificial heart valves.
According to modern scientific research, carbon fiber material has the advantages of good biocompatibility, less irritation to living tissue, non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, small specific gravity, and elastic modulus similar to that of human bone, etc., and has become the fourth-generation implant material. potential advantages.
Carbon fiber applications: artificial bones and artificial joints
At present, carbon fiber composite materials are widely used in medical fields such as intraosseous fixation plates, bone fillers, hip joint stems, artificial implant roots, cranial repair materials and artificial heart materials.
Some companies have even researched that artificial bones made of carbon fiber composite materials or other biological materials are closer to real human bones, which is of great significance to orthopedic medicine.
The wear resistance of the artificial joint made of it is also higher than that of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene and metal products at the active joint.
Invibio is a well-known supplier of medical devices. The chopped carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK) developed by Invibio has excellent mechanical strength and tensile creep resistance, and can carry the loads required by bones, blood and human tissues. , with good compatibility with the human body.
The flexural strength of this artificial bone is closer to the real human bone than artificial bones made of other biological materials, which is of great significance to orthopedic medicine. The wear resistance of the artificial joint made of it is also higher than that of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene and metal products at the active joint.
In China, Shanghai Jieshijie, a well-known new material company, has developed continuous carbon fibers for bone repair. The resin matrix is made of polymethyl methacrylate, and the mass fraction of carbon fibers is 20%-60%.
Because the material is light in weight, does not interfere with MRI examination, and has been proved to meet national standards by biological toxicity tests, it also has good biocompatibility. There is no adverse reaction and no rejection reaction, so it is suitable for fracture fixation material or fracture internal fixation or bone repair material.
So to sum up, what are the significant advantages of carbon fiber composite materials in the medical field?
1. Anisotropy and designability
Carbon fiber composites are anisotropic materials, with different properties along the fiber direction and perpendicular to the fiber direction, which brings a lot of freedom to the design. Features such as elasticity and strength to meet specific use requirements.
The medical equipment parts often act on different parts of the human body, and the specific performance requirements of different parts are different.
2. High X-ray transmittance
The transmittance of X-rays is related to the elemental composition, atomic number, density, and thickness of the penetrated material. The main elements of carbon fiber composites are C, H, and O. The atomic number is small, and the X-ray mass absorption coefficient is much lower than— general material.
1mm thick aluminum plate and carbon fiber composite material plate, their X-ray transmittance is 78% and 96% respectively, the aluminum plate scattering and absorption consumption is 22%, and the carbon fiber plate is only 4%.
3. Excellent fatigue resistance
Carbon fiber composites contain numerous fiber/resin interfaces. When cracks are generated by excessive external force, these interfaces can effectively prevent the further expansion of cracks and delay the occurrence of fatigue failure.
Medical equipment is reused every day, and the good fatigue resistance of carbon fiber composite materials ensures the service life of the equipment.
In the field of medical devices, carbon fiber composites are used to manufacture mobile platforms for X-ray inspection machines by virtue of their total X-ray transmittance; CFRP is used to manufacture medical devices such as orthopaedics and organ transplantation by virtue of its excellent mechanical properties. And the manufacture of prosthetics, orthoses and other rehabilitation products.
4. Used for CT bed board equipment and auxiliary equipment
This type of carbon fiber medical case is currently the most widely used and widely used in China. The more representative ones include X-ray, CT and B-ultrasound examination bed panels, headrests for diagnostic beds, panels for high-definition DR flat panel detectors, and brackets.
Most of the medical CT bed boards are made of insulating electric boards, but their radiation transmittance is low, mechanical properties are poor, and imaging clarity is poor. The absorption rate and scattering rate of carbon fiber composite materials are much smaller than that of carbon fiber composite materials, which can correspondingly reduce the X-ray dose during diagnosis, reduce the power of the X-ray machine, prolong the service life of the instrument, and save electricity.
More importantly, because of this excellent X-ray transmission performance, the carbon fiber composite material allows rays to be irradiated on the bed at any angle without refraction, and only a small dose of rays can obtain clear contrast, thereby reducing the need for patients. and hazards to healthcare workers.
Carbon fiber composite materials have excellent performance and have been widely used in civilian daily life. With the continuous progress of medical technology and continuous innovation and development, the application of carbon fiber in medical devices represents a new trend and direction, and the future will usher in a broader application prospect!
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