Implant

It can be tricky enough getting titanium implants to bond with the surrounding bone, but when the patient has osteoporosis, things get even harder. An experimental coating may help, though, by first boosting and then blocking inflammation.

If someone suffers from bilateral vestibular hypofunction, it means that their inner ear doesn't maintain their sense balance. As a result, they get dizzy easily. A new implant, however, appears to bypass the problem, significantly reducing vertigo.

Medical implants that help regulate activity in the brain could go a long way to treating conditions like Parkinson's and depression, and scientists have just developed one with some very useful functionality.

When an obese person really needs to lose weight, gastric bypass surgery is sometimes performed – but it's quite an invasive procedure. An experimental new implant, however, may produce similar results with much less fuss.

Underactive bladder syndrome is a condition that leaves sufferers with an inability to properly empty the organ, but an international team of researchers has been working on an advanced medical implant that could make it far easier to manage.

While we have been hearing about the development of health-monitoring implantable sensors, most such devices would have to be surgically removed once no longer needed. An experimental new one, however, would just harmlessly dissolve.

When a patient receives a titanium artificial hip, there's always the risk of an infection developing at the interface between the metal and the bone. A new implant-coating process, however, is intended to greatly reduce that risk.

Human trials for a first-of-a-kind device designed to treat the brain via electrical stimulation have brought some very promising results, leading to significant quality-of-life improvements for a pair of men with motor neurone disease (MND).

Over the years we have looked at many implantable patches that can be used to treat damaged hearts, but a new example developed at the University of Houston is claimed to take these into new territory.

Heart attack patients often need replacements for damaged arteries. In a new proof-of-concept study, scientists knitted a prototype graft out of hybrid synthetic and biological yarn, helping the patients own cells grow and repair the artery.

Although we're hearing more and more about 3D-bioprinted body parts, at least one challenge remains: getting oxygen to the cells in the printed tissue. A new type of "bioink," however, is claimed to be capable of doing just that.

Scientists at the National University of Science and Technology in Russia are developing a new bioactive polymer-ceramic composite derived from common eggshells that can be used to treat skull injuries and other surgical bone procedures.