ABSTRACT
Implantable devices are used in medicine to replace a structure or restore a function which has been damaged by disease or injury or is congenitally absent. The first fully implantable device in general use was the shunt used for control of hydrocephalus, a condition caused by accumulation of fluid in the brain, in the late 1950’s. Nowadays, devices in common use include large joint replacements, cardiac valves and pacemakers, intravenous catheters and vascular grafts. Various biomaterials are in use, including steel and titanium alloys, polymethylmethacrylate, high density polyethylene, woven polymers such as polytetrafluoroethane and terephthalate, and silicone elastomer. This last biomaterial is used in the majority of implantable devices.
