Metals, with their strength and durability, are still regarded as the go-to material for many medical devices. Advantages of using metals include strength, a sterile surface, fracture toughness, electrical conductivity and the combination of both elasticity and rigidity. This is particularly important for metals used in stents (used in blood vessels for dilatation) as they require some elasticity for expansion while also remaining rigid when dilated. Most important is safety, and metals implanted in tissues must not show any toxicity or metal ion dissolution by corrosion or wear.
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Due to their non-oxidisation properties, stainless steel and cobalt chrome alloys are the optimum choice of metal for medical devices, along with titanium. Nitinol, a metal alloy of nickel and titanium, is popular due to its superelastic and ‘shape memory’ properties. Additionally, coil springs used in catheters use platinum iridium, platinum tungsten, and tungsten for radiopacity.
Stainless steel is the most versatile metal used in medical devices due to its strength and corrosion resistance properties. The most common alloys used for medical device applications are 302, 304V, 304LV and 316LVM. These alloys are made up of between 17 to 20% chromium and between 8 to 15% nickel. The presence of chromium provides corrosion resistance by forming a chromium oxide film on the surface of the alloy.
Typical applications include stylets, catheters, guidewires, springs, needles, orthodontics, bone pins, skin closure staples and orthopedic cables.
Titanium is stronger, lighter and more corrosion resistant than standard grades of stainless steel. Pure titanium promotes osseointegration, meaning that bone can grow into the material, further helping to anchor implants in the body.
For pure titanium, typical end uses include pacing leads, needles, sutures, ligature clips and orthopedic applications.
For alloyed titanium, applications often include springs, surgical staples, ligature clips, orthopedic cables, orthopedic pins and screws and orthodontic appliances.
Nitinol is a family of alloys consisting of nickel and titanium. It is extremely corrosion resistant and demonstrates excellent biocompatibility. Nitinol exhibits superelasticity and/or shaped memory effect due to the crystalline structure of the material. The ability to remember and return to a specified shape after deformation when exposed to a predetermined temperature has been a gamechanger in the medical device industry. If surgeons need to navigate in particularly tight areas, nitinol has both flexibility to change shape as needed and the durability to endure considerable amounts of strain (8%).
Common applications of nitinol include guidewires, stents, forming mandrels, stone retrieval baskets, orthodontic files, and arch wires.
The most common superalloys being used in the medical device industry are cobalt-chromium based. These high-performance materials offer strength, fatigue resistance, ductility, good biocompatibility, and corrosion resistance. The most commons alloys are MP35N®, L-605, Elgiloy® and FWM™ 1537
Typical end uses for superalloys include stents, pacing leads, surgical clips, vena cava filters, orthopedic cables and spinal rods and screws.
Custom Wire Technologies (CWT) is a US-based manufacturer of medical wire solutions with over 50 years of industry experience, implementation of the very latest technologies, and works with all the above-mentioned alloys. From custom core wires and coils to K-wires, Steinmann pins to fixation devices, CWT provides its customers with custom manufactured medical components using a range of certified materials. The main alloys that CWT works with are stainless steel 304V and 316LVM, and Nitinol.
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Chromium supplements are most recognized for their ability to improve the action of natural insulin. But there are other uses, as well as precautions, to be aware of.
Chromium is a mineral that your body needs for some functions of your metabolism. The Food and Drug Administration deemed chromium an essential element in 2001 because of its effect on the way insulin works.
This article explores how your body uses chromium and who may need or benefit from chromium supplements.
Chromium is a mineral that is naturally found in many foods. Some forms of chromium are toxic byproducts of manufacturing and stainless steel devices, but those are not the same as the kind of chromium found in food and dietary supplements.
This mineral is most recognized for its ability to improve the action of natural insulin. But chromium also plays a role in:
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While chromium is important for some normal bodily functions, there are also other rumored benefits. Some of these are myths, and others are suspected but remain unconfirmed:
Chromium may have some impact on weight loss, and it’s often sold as a supplement aimed at promoting metabolism or weight loss. But evidence to support its use for weight loss is mixed. In studies in which chromium did lead to weight loss, the effects were small but significant.
If you’re interested in losing weight, you can talk with a doctor about your weight loss goals and whether chromium supplements are right for you. Like many other vitamins and minerals, chromium may interfere with certain health conditions or interact with medications.
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Although chromium is an essential mineral, there’s little evidence that taking these supplements helps people reach their desired health goals.
Studies have observed improvements in blood sugar levels, weight loss, and muscle building, but these changes have been small.
Research suggests that chromium supplements have some impact on health conditions such as PCOS and diabetes, but the significance of these effects is still unclear. More research is needed.
People with liver and kidney disease may need to be careful of excessive chromium supplementation.
Medication interactions are a bigger concern. Chromium supplementation could change the action of or otherwise interact with the following medications:
if you’re taking any of these medications, talk with a doctor or pharmacist before taking chromium supplements.
Chromium is an essential mineral, but deficiencies are rare and there’s little evidence that supplementation can help you reach health goals such as weight loss and better blood sugar regulation.
Before starting to take any dietary supplements, talk with a doctor to make sure they won’t interfere with any medications you’re taking or any medical conditions you have.
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