Professor Andrés Díaz Lantada and Dr. Jon Molina-Aldareguia, of the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) and IMDEA Materials Institute, have highlighted the “significant advances” made in 4D printing, shape-morphing materials and medical devices thanks to the iMPLANTS-CM project.
Their comments come ahead of the upcoming Open Innovation and Industrial Workshop iMPLANTS-CM to be jointly hosted by the UPM and IMDEA Materials.
The event, to be held on November 30, will highlight the latest possibilities in additive manufacturing (3D and 4D printing) relating to intelligent medical devices, tissue regeneration, biodegradable implants and energy-saving materials among other innovations.
NOTE: You can register for the Open Innovation and Industrial Workshop iMPLANTS-CM via the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfSaH8KJ6SRn1xJoZJrtxtFvipT0Nq3-7xJtZgYDlncYSrOKA/viewform
It will take place at UPM’s Higher Technical School of Industrial Engineering (ETSII). The event marks the midway point of the iMPLANTS-CM project, launched in 2020 and funded by the Autonomous Community of Madrid (CAM).
Through this project, researchers from ETSII’s Mechanical Engineering department and IMDEA Materials are pursuing the design and personalized fabrication of active, shape-morphing implants. The objective of these advances is to enable less invasive surgeries, to create implants which evolve to meet patients’ needs, and to advance the field of personalized medicine.
“The truth is that we have achieved some very significant results related to 4D printing through the use of nickel and titanium with shape-morphing and superelastic properties,” explained Prof. Díaz Lantada. “We have also already been able to develop an initial collection of intelligent medical devices through iIMPLANTS-CM over the past year,” explained Prof. Lantada.
“This would not have been possible without the support of the Community of Madrid and we are very pleased with the overall results we are achieving. It has also led to several initiatives and new proposals that we think will be of great value moving forward.”
The workshops will feature the participation of international experts Prof. Iain Todd from the University of Sheffield, Prof. Carmelo de Maria from the University of Pisa, and Prof. Marco Harmsen from the University Medical Center Groningen.
Prof. Silvia de la Flor López (Universitat Rovira I Virgili), Dr. Teresa Pérez Prado, Prof. Jennifer Patterson and Dr. Mónica Echeverry from IMDEA Materials will also present workshops, as will Prof. Díaz Lantada and Dr. Molina-Aldareguia, deputy director of IMDEA Materials and the project’s co-principal researcher.
“This event will be an opportunity for researchers involved in the iMPLANTS-CM project to showcase their results relating to the manufacture and application of new materials which can be utilized for a variety of biomedical applications,” explained Dr. Molina-Aldareguia.
“The event is also designed to share knowledge in the multidimensional medicine field and to hopefully provide inspiration for new ideas and cutting-edge research which will benefit future advances.”
The workshop will consist of two sessions. From 10.00 – 13.30, Designing, Manufacturing and Empowering Smart Materials will feature presentations related to shape-memory alloys and the challenges and potential of 4D printing in this field. Topics covered will also include 3D printing of energy-saving materials and the future of additive manufacturing.
The afternoon session, Trends in Personalized and Smart Medical Devices and Biofabrication (15.00 – 18.00), will address current trends in regenerative medicine and biofabrication with a focus on biodegradable implants, organ-on-chip devices and in vitro tissue models.
