Inventors turn to mechanical means for heart innovation; new coatings prolong implant life

Novel biomaterials were evident amongst December’s list of patent applications, with examples of new composites for orthopaedic use. These include silica zeolite/hydroxyapatite combinations and materials that can promote growth of multiple tissue types. In addition, material science was the key element of a patent application covering a potentially new method for growing cells that could have a major impact on many areas of tissue engineering. In cardiovascular medicine, there were some interesting inventions based on more traditional mechanical methods, as opposed to biological/material methods that seem to have dominated this area of medicine over the past few years. These cardiovascular patent applications include an atherectomy device that takes advantage of centripetal forces to provide a larger cutting diameter in the vessel.