The Metal Spray process is used in conjunction with Prosthetics, Dental Implants and many more biomedical applications. The Metal sprayed coatings can improve wear resistance, provide EMI/RFI shielding, boost bio-compatibility and add other beneficial features to biomedical devices, components and implants.
Specialised materials can help the human body accept and attach to medical implant prosthetics, including orthopaedic and dental implants. Porous Titanium and dense Hydroxyapatite Metal sprayed coatings are commonly used for these applications.
Medical Implant Prosthetics
The most commonly used application in the Biomedical field is Medical Implant Prosthetics. The image above shows a Metal Sprayed Spine Screw which is used to increase lumbar spine fusion.
Metal spray coating solutions for Orthopaedic, Dental and Spinal implants use:
- Controlled Atmospheric Plasma Spray (CAPS).
- Vacuum Plasma Sprayed (VPS).
- Air Plasma Spray (APS).
Metal Sprayed Shanz Pin - used for external fixation at the pin-bone interface
When using medical implant prosthetics, it is important that the human body can accept the use of these biomedical components without rejection. For this purpose, materials such as hydroxyapatite and pure titanium are used to create bio-active coatings on implants. Dental implants are plasma sprayed with titanium.
The images below show a prosthetic hip which has been plasma sprayed with Hydroxyapatite.
Hydroxyapatite is a component of bone. It is a calcium phosphate mineral that is also found in rocks and sea coral.
Metal Sprayed Femur Stem - used for reconstruction of an arthritic hip
Surgeons use hydroxyapatite implants made from sea coral that have been treated so that their structure and chemical make-up is almost identical to the hydroxyapatite of human bone. When implanted, the synthetic implant is accepted by the body and due to the porous nature, normal tissue integration is able to take place. The process to create hydroxyapatite implants from sea coral involves intense heat that removes all the proteins thus rendering the structure totally non-immunogenic (i.e. it does not provoke allergic reactions). Metal Sprayed Titanium and its alloys produces optimised coatings that are used for coating hip, knee, shoulder, elbow and ankle implants.
Radio Frequency and Electromagnetic Interference Coatings
The Metal Spray process offers a range of coatings for protecting bio-medical devices from Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) and Electromagnetic Interference (EMI). EMI and RFI coatings can be used on any substrate including, but not limited to carbon-carbon composites and carbon-fibre composites. Lightweight electronic enclosures that are commonplace in biomedical research laboratories and healthcare facilities are also metal sprayed for RFI/EMI protection. Various noise sources such as oscillator circuits, CPUs, transformers and plastic cases can also benefit from metal spray coatings. Another common type of biomedical device that utilizes metal spray coated components is x-ray equipment.
Different degrees of electrical conductivity can be achieved with the use of the correct sprayed coating. Materials such as Copper, Aluminium and Molybdenum are commonly used for electrically conductive coatings. In high temperature applications - Ferrous Chrome, Aluminium, Molybdenum Disilicide and other materials can be used.
Thermal and wear resistant coatings can also be employed to enhance the functionality of biomedical devices and implants.
For more information on Metal Spray equipment or consumables, call us on 07 3823 1004, or email using our contact form.
