How Biomaterials Interact With The Human Body

Organ donation provided a new therapeutic path when new drugs and devices failed to reduce the mortality and morbidity rate of patients with such illnesses as cardiovascular diseases. By replacing damaged organs or tissue with a functioning substitute, organ transplantation offers an immediate cure. Unfortunately, this “cure” is never guaranteed because of the high risk of graft rejection and that’s if a suitable donor can be found. Thus, tissue engineering has been the projected new treatment for these problems. Tissue engineering replaces the diseased or damaged tissue or organs with biofabricated counterparts made using the specifications dictated by the features of the specific tissue or organ.

The artificial heart supports the body just like a normal heart would, pumping blood around the body. The artificial hearts are used when the original heart is damaged and needs time to recover. The artificial heart can replace the function of the person’s original heart for either a short period of time while a donor heart is being sort or for the duration of the person’s life.

Adult stem cells have already proven to be successful in treating diseases and have helped hundreds of thousands of patients, and new clinical uses expand almost weekly. Adult stem cells can be obtained from cord blood, fat, neural tissue, muscle, bone marrow, placental and skin cells. Adult stem cells are increasingly being shown to have a similar and perhaps an identical capacity to become cells of other types. There is a possibility that adult stem cells may function more efficiently and more safely than embryonic cells. Treena Arinzeh, a young professor who last year won a Presidential Award, the nation's highest scientific honor, is bringing the promise of stem cell research one step closer to reality. Adult stem cells also have a unique trait that lends them their magic: Under the right conditions, or given the proper signals, they have the ability to turn into different cell types. Arinzeh is doing exactly that: developing signals, in the form of biomaterials, that will help adult stem cells turn into cells that, if injected into a diseased area of the human body, could regenerate damaged tissue. Her research has also led to two major stem-cell discoveries: One showing that stem cells, when mixed with biomaterials known as scaffolds, can help regenerate bone growth; and another proving that stem cells taken from one person can be successfully implanted into another. A list of conditions for which stem-cell treatment holds promise grows almost daily: It now

surgical team had worked together to build a biomaterial to place in our patient to fix her

Thump, thump… thump, thump… thump, thump. That is the sound of Nature’s most perfect machine, the human heart. It epitomizes the idea of natural engineering through its complexity and contribution to the vessel that holds it. But, can it be synthesized by the species that possesses and depends upon it? With the emerging 3D printing technology in the field of regenerative medicine, the answer may very well be yes. However, a question to consider before humanity embarks on this endeavour: do the life-saving advantages outweigh the various disadvantages?

In Laura Cabrera’s journal article, “Human Implants: A Suggested Framework to Set Priorities”, Cabrera references many experts’ works in order to set a formal foundation of transhumanist knowledge for both the followers and skeptics of transhumanism, eventually bringing into light a much-ignored topic, technoethics. Finally, she clearly presents her logical approach in tackling the pressing questions technoethics brings regarding human implants, following a trend that others before her in the field of human bioenhancement have taken before, letting her work speak for itself and show the grave consequences technoethics entail and what they as a society could do to resolve it.

even fatal to patients. When the malformations of the valve reach a critical point in

Arthritis or rheumatism is the leading cause of disability [1]. Arthritis is inflammation of one or more of the joints and the main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age [1]. More than 20 million individuals with arthritis have severe limitations in function on a daily basis [2]. Majority of the patients, who goes through this disability, finds their solution by doing Total Hip Replacement (THR) surgery. More than 285,000 hip replacements are performed in the U.S. each year [3]. It is estimated that by 2030 there will be an increment of 175% in the THR surgeries rising the numbers to 0.5 Million [3].Thus, these numbers portray the importance of hip replacement surgeries in the near future. Hip joint deterioration can lead to pain, stiffness or difficulty walking. When these symptoms do not respond to conservative treatment, such as physical therapy, patients may be advised to undergo total hip replacement or hip resurfacing. As part of this treatment, they may receive a “metal-on-metal” hip implant in which the “ball and socket” of the device are both made from metal as shown in Figure 1. These metal implants have been used in total hip replacement (THR) surgeries and hip resurfacing procedures. Because of metal's durability, MoM devices were expected

Silicone looks more realistic and also may feel like human flesh. This material can be produced to match patients skin color, can include artificial hair, acrylic nails, moles, freckles and tattoos and covers any metal parts giving a natural feel and look. In addition, there has been a growth in the use of fibrous materials in prosthetic technology such as Kevlar. Kevlar is a cloth like material that is very though. This material is exceptional because of its flexibility, yet, it is durable. Thanks to these new materials the prosthetics do not need to be adjusted or replaced over time as the materials do not stretch, making it long-lasting and well fitted for amputees regardless of age.

Williams labels the reaction of the speaker as fascination and curiosity as the theme because majority of the time the speaker is holding the book while the owner explains how he became the owner. Once he told the speaker, “It’s bound, the binder said, in human skin.” The speaker became curious and started asking questions and at the same time wondered who would do such a thing as to use human skin as a book cover. The speaker fidgets with it amazingly while trying to figure out if it is truly skin. A good number of questions flowed but neither one was answered by the owner of the book. “I stared at the changing book and a horror grew, I stared and a horror grew, which was, which is, how beautiful it was until I knew.” In this line, the speaker

One method is uses ion impregnation of the surface [84]. This method allows the material to act in such a way that they can either promote bone formation or reduce bone loss, since ions are essential factors for enzymes. Bioinorganic ions can modulate angiogenesis to accelerate healing, induce osteogenesis, and stimulate proliferation of osteoblast control. However the use of inorganic ions can also cause toxicity [85]. An example of a bioinorganic ion used on titanium is calcium ions. Calcium-modified implants, create a concentration gradient of chemo attractants for mesenchymal and osteoprogenitor cells on the implant surface. Moreover, calcium-modified titanium surfaces have electrical characteristics different from normal titanium surface, this change in the electrical properties on the surface increases the composition of adsorbed biofilm [86]. Other ions used to modify titanium surfaces are phosphate ions [87]. Phosphate ions are associated with proteins in formation and regeneration of bones through phosphorylation of serine, threonine and tyrosine amino residues. Phosphate-modified titanium implants block the incorporation of mineral ions into the crystal surface, inhibiting thereby crystal growth. The last ion coating consists of both phosphate and calcium [88], coating it with hydroxyapatite [89].

The mouth is where the digestion first begins as firstly the scent of the food will travel to the nose causing the salivary glands in the mouth to produce saliva as there are three pairs that do this. As you are chewing the food with your teeth the food starts to get broken down more saliva is produced along with the breaking down. The secretion will be transferred into the mouth and the tongue as the salivary glands are causing it to do this. Also, the digestive juice contains an enzyme which is known as salivary amylase which now begins the digestion of carbohydrates as well as lubricating the mouth in order to help with the bolus formation.

Internal fixation devices in the past had been made of stainless steel or titanium, but with problems resulting from those permanent devices, an innovative approach is being considered. Bioresorbable implants are a possible replacement to the original implants that would eliminate the need for removal, which has shown to be a problem for traditional implants.

Take a second, and imagine your life as a teenager, fresh out of college with, aspiring to get a degree in whatever your heart desires. You’ve got lots of ambition and potential. The world is at your fingertips; you can do anything you set your mind to. But one day, tragedy strikes and the unthinkable happens: you lose a limb. Why is not important, but what the future entails is. Let’s say this limb is your right arm, the one you have used all your life to write, eat, type and play the guitar. Now let’s change the scenario a little bit. Instead you’ve lost your legs in a horrific car accident where both were crushed under the weight of the dashboard as your car collided with the 4x4 in front of you. You wake up the next day in the hospital groggy, barely remembering what happened. Shock is the only thing running through your mind the moment you look down to see your legs missing. Your brain thinks they’re still there because yesterday you were just getting out of bed for your morning jog. All that remains are the stubs where your legs used to be and the unbearable thought of being confined to a motorized chair for the rest of your life.

By combining this technology with human cloning technology it may be possible to produce needed tissue for suffering people that will be free of rejection by their immune systems. Conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, heart failure, and other problems may be made curable by human cloning. (“Cloning to Save Lives”)