Secant Medical has developed a new 3-D textile engineering technology by integrating traditional textile engineering with advanced biomaterials. While 3-D printing or additive manufacturing has gained considerable attention as a novel method to create 3-D biomedical forms, 3-D printing does not always offer the dimensional stability, material selection and engineering properties desired. The 3-D textile technology leverages Secant Medical’s long history in developing medical textiles for use in implantable medical applications. Once programmed the 3-D textile set-up can produce high-quality, mass-engineered structures with a high degree of repeatability.

By combining the spatial resolution capability with advanced bioresorbable polymers, Secant Medical uses the company’s proprietary bioelastomer Regenerez to assist in enhancing the biomechanical properties of these 3-D structures. This technology transforms a simple, synthetic textile into an elastomeric scaffold which allows the researcher a broad range of bioresorbable polymers for the structural design.

The company has begun development of an anatomical scaffold prototype based on the trachea. The patent pending technology can provide the researcher with off-the-shelf scaffolds for a range of structures in various sizes to meet demographic demands. For instance, the 3-D textile engineered trachea scaffold demonstrates the precision of creating 20 C-shaped rings stacked along the length of the prototype with narrow, flexible regions spaced in between to mimic the natural bioarchitecture of the trachea.

“Our 3-D biomedical textile engineering technology offers a potential solution to help our customers’ resolve the complex challenges of biocompatibility, design and construction, and material properties,” said Jeff Robertson, President, Secant Medical. “Our company was built on innovation and this is just another example of the expertise we can provide to our customers.”

Secant Medical
www.secantmedical.com