Читать книгу Materials for Biomedical Engineering - Mohamed N. Rahaman - Страница 14

Our understanding of what a biomaterial is and, consequently, proposed definitions of the term biomaterial have evolved over time in response to advances in science and technology. An early use of the term and the beginnings of the biomaterials field emerged from symposia held in the United States around the late 1960s and early 1970s. One definition, endorsed by a consensus of experts in the field, is

 A biomaterial is a nonviable material used in a medical device, intended to interact with biological systems.

As biomaterials evolved, another definition was proposed:

 A biomaterial is a material intended to interface with biological systems to evaluate, treat, augment, or replace any tissue, organ or function in the body (Williams 1999).

While these early definitions reflected our understanding and use of biomaterials at that time, they are now too restrictive because of the evolution of biomaterials over the last two to three decades. Biological sciences, as noted earlier, are now playing an increasing role in designing biomaterials. At the same time, advances in engineering have made it possible to create biomaterials with increasing sophistication. Biomaterials are now being studied, developed or created to target specific responses by cells and tissues in the body, regenerate functional tissues and organs, deliver molecules or drugs to target specific cells or tissues, and improve diagnostic imaging of cells and tissues. A recently proposed definition that attempts to capture these more recent advances and broader meaning of the term is:

 A biomaterial is a substance that has been engineered to take a form which, alone or as part of a complex system, is used to direct, by control of interactions with components of living systems, the course of any therapeutic or diagnostic procedure (Williams 2014).