Medical devices implanted in muscular tissue work wonders to relieve chronic pain, rehabilitate muscles and control prosthetic limbs. However, traditional materials used to make the devices are hard to see on X-rays and CT scans. A new material developed at the MSU Polymer Engineering Lab provides high contrast on medical imaging for intramuscular implants, making implanted devices easier to locate and monitor.
Robert Ferrier, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Michigan State, leads a team developing sustainable synthetic polyethers — a type of plastic — that allows them to create unique polymers that have not existed before. One material is a polymer that’s radiopaque, that is, it can be seen under X-ray like CT (computed tomography).
The new polyether blocks X-rays so objects made with the material show up bright white on imaging. It can be incorporated into conventional biomedical devices that are normally radiolucent, or permeable to X-rays. Radiolucent objects do not show up in sharp contrast on imaging.
The key advantage of the engineered polyether is that it allows monitoring of implanted biomedical devices without surgical intervention. This makes it possible for health care providers to address issues like movement of an implant within the body or degradation of a device before they become symptomatic.
When used to make small devices, such as microcatheters, the polyether increases the device’s visibility without increasing its size.
Ferrier notes another advantage to the new polyether materials is they are also compatible with 3D printing techniques so patient-specific radiopaque devices can be fabricated.
To learn more about Ferrier’s work, visit:
- Non-cytotoxic, iodinated poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) block-co-polymer contrast agents for computed tomography (CT) imaging [Article]
- Polymer Engineering Lab [Website]
- Polyether Design for Human Health: Their Role in Therapeutics, Diagnostics, and Society [Thesis]
- Robert C. Ferrier, Jr. Google Scholar page [Website]
MSU College of Engineering Media and Public Relations page