Medical Device Coatings for Orthopedics
Orthopedics is the area of medicine dealing with the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons employ both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat
- Trauma
- Sports injuries
- Infections
- Arthritis and other degenerative diseases
- Tumors
- Congenital disorders
Orthopedic procedures are now the most frequent type of surgery performed in the operating room, accounting for over 24% of procedures in 2011. Demand is being driven by the aging population, individuals’ desire to be more active later in life, more prevalent obesity and expansion of health insurance coverage.
Orthopedic products that can benefit from Harland technologies include those devices related to:
- Spine
- Knee
- Hips
- Trauma
- Extremities (hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder, foot and ankle)
- Sports medicine
- Dental implants
- Biologics
Osseointegration
A common surface enhancement need in the Orthopedics area is to promote osseointegration between living bone and the surface of an implant. Hydroxyapatite coating is a common material used to enhance this property. Having been typically used on metal devices, it is now being utilized on polymers such as PEEK.
Hydrophilic properties of implant surfaces also enhance osseointegration. Harland’s surface treatments to increase surface energy are another way osseointegration can be enhanced.
Antimicrobial Coatings
When an infection occurs in an orthopedic implant, the consequences can be a severe. The biofilms which accompanying these infections make post-implant infection especially difficult to treat. These infections require long-term antimicrobial treatment and often necessitate the removal of the implant before the infection can be completely eliminated. Harland’s Bacticent® Antimicrobial Coating Technologies can help deliver localized anti-infective compounds to help minimize the chance of a post-implant infection developing.
Automated Coaters and Test Systems
Harland offers six families of automated coaters which can apply nearly every coating technology in commercial use today. Systems are available to coat as few as one part at a time up to large-scale systems designed to coat tens of millions of parts a year.
