EBME 406. Polymers in Medicine
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.
Course Objectives
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