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About UHMwPE fibers
- One Of The Most Recent Advances In
Biomedical Materials
UHMwPE fibers are one of the most
recent advances in biomedical materials, and they are proving
effective in moving implants beyond the limitations of more
traditional
orthopedic fibers and sutures. Conventional fibers such as
polyesters, polypropylene, or nylon have a moderate strength and
show a fairly large stretch (elongation)
before they ultimately break. UHMwPE fibers are the opposite - the
strength is much higher. The fibers on a weight basis are more
than 10 times as strong as steel, and
a braid or suture made from this fiber has the potential to be
twice as strong as a comparable polyester product. At the same
time, the elongation is hardly noticeable
- when ultimately reaching the breaking strength, the elongation
is just about 3%. This specific factor supports new approaches.
For instance, the fibers are used in
modern ligament fixations where the very low stretch results in a
very rigid fixation, improving the chance for fast re-adhesion of
the torn ligaments back to the bone.
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