Authors:
Andrés Díaz Lantada
1
;
Carlos Vega
1
;
Rodrigo Zapata Martínez
1
;
Mónica Rendón
2
;
Muzi Li
2
;
Óscar Contreras-Almengor
2
;
Jesús Ordoño
2
;
William Solórzano-Requejo
1
;
Miroslav Vasic
3
;
Juan Manuel Munoz-Guijosa
1
and
Jon Molina-Aldareguia
1
;
2
Affiliations:
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, ETSI Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
;
2
IMDEA Materials Institute, Tecnogetafe, Getafe, Spain
;
3
Center for Industrial Electronics, ETSI Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Keyword(s):
Additive Manufacturing, Shape-Memory Alloys, Smart Materials and Structures, Medical Devices.
Abstract:
Shape-morphing smart medical devices constitute a current research trend and are bound to transform healthcare thanks to the improved interactions with the human body they enable. 4D printing technologies facilitate the development of such devices and start to provide innovative solutions like minimally invasive surgical tools and devices, ergonomic appliances and orthoses, evolutive implants and active in vitro biodevices, among others. Most studies so far, dealing with 4D printed biodevices, have been focused on smart polymeric materials and structures, whose biomechanical, biochemical and biological properties cannot always match those from shape-morphing and shape-memory alloys (SMAs). Considering several recent synergic breakthroughs in the additive manufacturing of smart alloys, this study presents 4D printing with SMAs for a new generation of medical devices, illustrated through case studies by our team. The more relevant strategies under research for enhancing the performance
of 4D printed NiTi are illustrated and varied foreseen directions for achieving a sustainable and equitable impact in healthcare are discussed.
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