Description
Biomaterials and biomedical device implants in the body. Chemical and physical characteristics of biomedical polymers. Implant requirements, host-implant reactions. Physiological and bio-mechanical basis for soft-tissue implants. Design of new and modified biomaterials.

Course Goals
This course is designed to cover the important fundamentals and applications of polymers in medicine, and consists of three major components: (i) the blood and soft-tissue reactions to polymer implants; (ii) the structure, characterization and modification of biomedical polymers; and (iii) the application of polymers in a broad range of cardiovascular and extravascular devices. Synthetic and biologic polymers are widely used as material components in artificial devices, designed to sustain, augment or completely replace diseased human organs. Students learn the chemical and physical characteristics of biomedical polymers and the properties required to meet the needs of the intended biological function in biomedical devices and clinical applications. Recent advances and current problems associated with different polymer implants are analyzed and discussed.

Prerequisites
EMAC 270 or equivalent introduction to polymers.
EBME 201/202 or equivalent introduction to physiology & biophysics
EBME 306 or equivalent introduction to biomaterials

Class/laboratory Schedule
Three 50 minute lectures per week.

Typical Class Size
30 (~50% are undergraduate students)

Semesters and Years Offered
Offered spring semesters every year

Laboratory Projects
Students prepare 2, 6-page review papers. Each review topic is selected by the students, designed to emphasize depth in the topic of interest. In the third month, students prepare a research proposal (modified & reduced NIH style). In addition, students are assigned 4 of the class (anonymous) proposals to review (instructions provided). Both the proposals and reviews are graded.