Spire wins US grants for prostheses coating:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Spire Biomedical is to develop coatings that could reduce the wear of and increase the lifetime of two materials used in hip and knee orthopaedic prostheses - ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and cobalt-chrome metal. Using the company's proprietary ion beam deposition process, UHMWPE will be coated with a tough, biocompatible, ceramic coating while the cobalt chrome component will be treated with a metal matrix composite surface, said Bedford, Massachusetts-based Spire. The company has received two grants totalling $200,000 from the US National Institutes of Health.