I-Corps: Spine Fusion Implant made from a Tough Piezoelectric Composite Biomaterial

该项目将展示使用压电复合材料作为能够提供电刺激的脊柱融合植入物的技术和商业可行性。以前的研究人员曾尝试在人体内使用压电材料；然而，他们经常依赖于硬而脆的陶瓷材料，这些材料不太适合人体内的环境。最初的研究也没有包括将压电材料产生的电力转换为人体能够使用的形式所需的电子电路。此外，由于需要极化试样件，压电材料的厚度通常是有限的。这一步骤需要使用较大的电场强度，而对于较厚的样品，这需要高得令人望而却步的电压源，因此很难生产出熔化笼所需的厚度。之前美国国家科学基金会资助的一项创新导致了一种制造技术，能够生产出适合植入的大规模压电复合材料。这项研究将创造出一种植入物，可以极大地改善腰痛患者的生活。在一个目前由大宗商品主导的市场中，这可能是一项真正具有颠覆性的技术，可以满足大量患者的需求。目前的辅助治疗是有效的，但增加了巨大的成本，并有很大的副作用。压电融合植入物的成功率应该与常规植入物加辅助治疗相当，产生更少的负面副作用，并降低患者的总体医疗成本。此外，坚韧的压电复合材料技术还可以用于医疗保健内外的许多其他应用，并允许创建以前认为不可能的大规模坚韧压电结构。

The project will demonstrate the technological and commercial feasibility of using piezoelectric composite materials as spinal fusion implants capable of providing electrical stimulation. Previous researchers have attempted to use piezoelectric materials in the body; however they have often relied on hard and brittle ceramic materials that are not well suited to the environment found inside the human body. Initial studies also did not incorporate the electronic circuitry required to convert the power generated by a piezoelectric material into a form the body is capable of using. Furthermore, the thickness of piezoelectric materials is typically limited due to the need to pole the specimens. This step requires the use of large electric field strengths, which for thick specimens require prohibitively large voltage sources, making it difficult to produce the thicknesses required for a fusion cage. An innovation developed as a result of previous NSF funding has resulted in a manufacturing technique capable of producing large scale piezoelectric composites that are suitable for implantation.This research will result in the creation of an implant that could drastically improve the lives of patients suffering from low back pain. In a market that is currently dominated by commodity products, this could be a truly disruptive technology that fulfills a large patient need. Current adjunct therapies are effective but add tremendous cost and have substantial negative side effects. The piezoelectric fusion implant should be yield success rates comparable to a regular implant plus adjunct therapy, result in fewer negative side effects, and reduce overall patient healthcare costs. Furthermore, the tough piezoelectric composite technology can also be used for many other applications both in and outside of healthcare, and allows the creation of large scale, tough piezoelectric structures previously not considered possible.