New plastic medical implants ‘will be less likely to be rejected’

UK researchers are working to create next-generation plastic-based medical implants that offer a lower chance of being rejected by the host's body.

A team from Imperial College London will be provided with funding by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to explore new types of plastics that can be combined with natural body proteins, encouraging interaction with surrounding nerves to prevent rejection.

Conventional medical implants often trigger inflammatory responses that are difficult to control, but growing evidence suggests that the body is less likely to reject plastic-based implants.

This new research project combines tissue engineering, plastic design and bionic device technology to create soft and flexible plastic bioelectronics, with the aim of demonstrating their safety and benefits to patients.

It is expected, for example, that this principle could be used to create new forms of cochlear implant or bionic eye implants.

Dr Rylie Green from Imperial College London's department of bioengineering said: "These activities will be key to moving plastic-based medical implants towards use in humans and creating high-resolution implants that improve patient quality of life."

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