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Defense Intelligence Reference Document Biomaterials

Defense Intelligence Agency · 32 pages · text from the file's own layer

This Defense Intelligence Agency reference document, dated 7 January 2010 and prepared under the Acquisition Threat Support series, surveys biomaterials used in medicine. It covers biocompatibility, biosensor membranes, silicones, Teflon, biodegradable polymers, hydrogels, titanium, bioceramics, tissue constructs, cardiovascular stents, contact lenses, drug delivery and dialysis. It concludes that biomaterial performance underlies many medical devices, that the industry is slow to adopt new materials because of testing costs, and that innovation mainly involves new applications of established materials.

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can be tailored to varying degrees of hardness and strength for stiffness in catheter
applications.
Biomedical silicones attracted notoriety in 1995 when a class-action lawsuit against
Dow Corning, Inc., brought a huge settlement resulting from the supposed dangers of
silicone breast implants.
After reviewing years of evidence and research concerning silicone gel-filled breast
implants, the national Institute of Medicine found that "evidence suggests diseases or
conditions such as connective tissue diseases, cancer, neurological diseases or other
systemic complaints or conditions are no more common in women with breast implants
than in women without implants." Dow moved out of the medical silicone business and
has since been replaced by an array of smaller companies offering specialized silicone
products.
Figure 4 shows the present form of silicone used for reconstructive surgery following a
mastectomy, particularly after breast cancer in women.
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Figure 4. Photograph of Silicone (polydimethyllsiloxane) Biomedical Implants Used in Breast
Reconstructive Surgery
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