The elastic modulus of pure titanium is only 53% of stainless steel, which makes it closer to natural bone when implanted in the human body. In orthopedic surgery, this similarity is crucial as it facilitates the smooth process of bone joining and significantly reduces the stress shielding effect of the bone on the implant. The stress shielding effect refers to the phenomenon where implants, due to their excessive rigidity, bear too much stress that should have been borne by the bones. Over time, this can lead to problems such as osteoporosis in the bones due to a lack of sufficient stress stimulation. The advantage of titanium materials has made
Titanium Alloy Elbow joints, ankle joints, etc. widely used in human orthopedic surgery.
The application range of titanium materials is very wide. Titanium materials can be seen in spinal orthopedic rods, intramedullary needles, intramedullary nails, compression plates, artificial joints, and other aspects. Taking the treatment of common orthopedic diseases as an example, patellar fracture is a common intra-articular fracture that requires the use of a patellar concentrator during treatment. The patellar concentrator is made of 1.5-2mm thick titanium nickel alloy plate to create functional claws for the patellar tip and base. Clinical results have shown that the use of a patellar concentrator is simple, time-saving, and labor-saving. In some cases, the surgery can even be completed under local anesthesia, making it easy to promote and apply. The waveform bent foot saddle stitch nail is developed using the memory properties of titanium nickel alloy; The compression plate made of nickel
titanium alloy can be used for compression fixation of the fracture site, and is used to cure femoral shaft fractures. This method is simple to operate and has good treatment effects.
China started early in the application of titanium materials in orthopedics. Since 1972, China has been using domestically produced titanium materials and titanium alloy artificial bones and joints for clinical treatment. Beijing Nonferrous Metals Research Institute is one of the earliest institutions in China to study titanium artificial joints. In 1973, it produced 300 industrial pure titanium artificial femurs and hips for clinical use. As of 2023, although the amount of titanium used in China's pharmaceutical industry is relatively low, the growth rate is over 30%, demonstrating enormous development potential and making it a true blue ocean market.
The current application of titanium alloy grades and their development
At present, mature titanium alloy grades include Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-6Al-4VELI alloys, which are widely used in implant materials. However, these two alloys contain the toxic element vanadium, which may pose potential hazards to the human body if used for a long time. Although the International Organization for Standardization and the International Committee for the Safety of Medical Materials have not yet ordered a ban on the use of this alloy, the application of Ti-6Al-4V in the human body has gradually declined.
To address this issue, several vanadium free medical titanium alloys have been developed internationally. The Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy was developed in Switzerland and put into clinical use. China is also not willing to fall behind. Beijing Nonferrous Metal Research Institute and Baoji Nonferrous Metal Processing Factory jointly developed vanadium free
Medical Titanium Alloy, which has passed medical clinical application experiments. This project won the first prize of China Nonferrous Metal Industry Science and Technology in 2001. In addition, there are new alloys such as Ti-5Al-2.5Fe alloy from Germany, Ti-5Al-1.5B alloy from India, and Ti-15Mo-5Zr-3Al alloy, which provide more choices for the application of titanium materials in orthopedics.
Innovative fusion of 3D printing and titanium materials
On the basis of biosafety, medical additive manufacturing of pure titanium is used to treat skull defects, dental defects, and hip replacement. Research has found that using 3D printed pure Titanium Mesh sheets can better maintain space than other sheets, which is beneficial for the formation of bone graft materials. Moreover, customized titanium mesh has greater advantages than commercial titanium mesh by shortening surgical time and eliminating the risk of postoperative infection. The rapid development of 3D printing technology has brought new opportunities for the application of titanium materials in orthopedics, which is expected to trigger an industrial revolution in the titanium industry.
Future Prospects
Perhaps there are certain mechanical and biological limitations to the use of single titanium materials or titanium alloys as bone substitutes in clinical practice, but with the continuous development of technology, these problems are gradually being solved. For example, the insufficient performance can be improved by coating with nanomaterials.
The application of Titanium Materials in orthopedics is a current trend in medical development. The titanium industry should seize this opportunity, increase research and development investment, and continuously improve product quality and performance. While benefiting society and alleviating patients' suffering, it can also promote personal development and achieve a win-win situation of social and economic benefits. I believe that in the future, titanium materials will play a more important role in the field of orthopedics and make greater contributions to human health.
