The most commonly used metal in the medical field - titanium

With the aging trend in our country, the incidence of cardiovascular diseases is increasing year by year, and more and more patients require cardiac stents, bypasses, and pacemaker implantation surgeries. Therefore, research on cardiovascular repair materials (such as artificial heart valves, blood filters, pacemakers and artificial heart pumps, etc.) has attracted much attention from the medical community.

The human body contains 14 metal elements including potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium, accounting for more than 99% of the total metal ions in the human body. These four metals are not used in medicine, but titanium was chosen for the heart. What is the appeal of titanium as a vascular repair material?

It turns out that titanium is a "biophilic metal" with a low-key and unique temperament, tough as steel, light as aluminum, healthy and environmentally friendly. Let's reveal the temperament of titanium metal one by one.

Any metal will oxidize, including iron, copper, and aluminum, and will rust, which is harmful to the human body. But titanium is not only highly compatible with living organisms, but the oxidation of titanium is harmless to the human body and only forms an oxide film. This oxide film has strong adhesion, high inertness, and very dense texture. Not only does it give people a warm and smooth touch, but it also protects the titanium alloy inside. The internal environment of the human body basically does not cause any damage to titanium. Even if it is placed in sea water for a hundred years, it will not be damaged.

Titanium is also wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant, has less irritation to the tracheal wall, and will not actively affect the human body in later life. Titanium has antibacterial properties and can be used on the human body for decades without growing bacteria.

Titanium is non-magnetic and chemically stable. It will not interfere with the instrument during detection. In magnetic resonance spectroscopy, artifacts caused by titanium are rare.

In addition to being suitable, it is also "durable" enough. When the temperature of titanium is lower than 315°, the oxide film can maintain stable characteristics and its strength is excellent enough. It has high tensile/yield strength, large resilience, and is not easily deformed after molding. Of course, it's also light enough.

In 1977, my country performed an industrialized pure titanium artificial femoral head replacement surgery on a patient. After 30 years of observation, it was found that the surface of the titanium prosthetic ball is smooth, the diameter does not change significantly, there is no pain, and the long-term curative effect is good.

Due to the "biophilic" properties of titanium, it has good biocompatibility with human tissues and has no toxic side effects, so it has been widely used in the medical field.

Currently, the use of titanium alloys in surgical implants is growing at an annual rate of 5%-7%. The report shows that the application of titanium in the medical field is mainly concentrated in hip joints and knee joints, accounting for 40% and 36% respectively. Titanium not only occupies an important position in the medical industry, but also plays a huge role in human society. It is a top aerospace material that can adapt to the harsh conditions of outer space, and it is also a medical material that can be safely implanted into the human body and become part of the body.

As such a precious metal, I hope that in the future, titanium can help more and more people in their daily lives and let people live a better life.