Material properties and performances requirements of orthopedic implants continue to evolve. OEMs are looking for materials that are stronger, have a better wear resistance, and exhibit biocompatibility. Manufacturers serve patients who expect to remain active and want to resume daily activities sooner. The need for patient-specific designs and implants becomes not only necessary for cases of trauma or birth defects, but since every human and its anatomy are different, the implant has to be adapted to the patient’s anatomy as well and not the other way around. One additional trend would be to create multi-density parts built by Additive Manufacturing that offer solutions to medical imaging technology and anatomical models derived from real human scan data.
Current trends and latest material developments for implants show a tendency in all three big classes of materials: metals, ceramics and polymers.