In the Netherlands, TU Delft researchers created a hybrid meta-biomaterial that promotes bone growth using a 3D printer and existing biomaterials. The material may be applied in hip implants to ensure their long-term fixation. Around the year 2020, the number of hip prostheses around the world is expected to rise to 2.5 million a year. Using the current technology, about 10% of these implants will no longer be firmly fixated 10 years after surgery.
The researchers suspect that a hybrid prosthesis made of both meta-biomaterials with a positive Poisson’s ratio and meta-biomaterials with a negative Poisson’s ratio, will become much more fixated in the body. This will significantly improve the chances of bone growth onto the hybrid meta-biomaterials, holding the implant much more securely in place.