Medical Devices

More and more medical device designs are moving to biodegradable polymers that can respond to in vivo stimuli, are amenable to remodeling, and are designed to degrade in the body when they are no longer needed. Load-bearing implants that treat large defects greatly benefit from absorbable biomaterial coatings that enhance integration with the host tissues and improve long-term patency. Bioresorbable stents, stent coatings, and drug-eluting stents have all been designed with biodegradable polymers. Orthopedic implants, fixation devices, and dental implants often utilize bioabsorbable polymers either fully or partially in their designs.