Cambridge, UK—May 1, 2012

Granta to showcase the latest developments to the Medical Materials Database at MD&M East

Metals and bioresorbable materials are highlights of latest update

Granta Design will be demonstrating the latest updates to the Medical Materials Database, an online information resource for orthopaedic and cardiovascular device manufacturers, at MD&M East in Philadelphia later this month.  This leading data source combines engineering materials properties and biomedical response data with medical device application information. It is the result of a collaboration between Granta and ASM International, the world’s largest professional society for materials engineers. 

The Medical Materials Database is updated quarterly. The Spring release includes:

• Metallic Materials Update—specific medical grades have been updated to broaden coverage, giving the latest information on the key commercially available metals of interest to the medical device industry. Comprehensive mechanical property and composition information is now available for 33 medical grades including CP Titanium, Co-28Cr-6Mo, and Platinum.
• Enhanced Bioresorbable Data—the degradation response of bioresorbable polymers, which are widely used in medical devices, now includes time-dependant data. Providing numerical values (linked to research papers defining the degradation times for these materials both in the body and under laboratory conditions) enables rapid comparisons between polymers.
• Updated FDA Guidance Documentation—cardiovascular and orthopaedic devices are now linked to related FDA guidance documents, helping users to explore the implications of regulatory advice for their designs.
• This latest version of the database features medical device approvals (510k and PMA) up to 6th March 2012—an additional 262 cardiovascular devices and 177 orthopaedic devices. The total number of devices now in the database is over 25,000, with around 15,300 cardiovascular devices and 9,600 orthopaedic devices.

The information is compiled by expert authors and is subject to extensive peer review prior to publication—overall, the data modules represent thousands of hours of data acquisition, peer review, and verification. It allows medical device designers to:

• Enjoy immediate access to critical materials information, including from previously approved (i.e., 'predicate' devices)—reduce time, cost, and risk in design and certification, and get new insights in the design process
• Screen, analyze, select and source candidate materials and coatings for device applications and associated compatible drugs—including rapid selection against user-defined criteria
• Trace all data back to published literature, FDA device approvals information, or manufacturers' datasheets and websites, and open these directly from the database pages—supporting for quality processes such as ISO 13485 and Six Sigma

The data contained in the Medical Materials Database is also available for use within the GRANTA MI materials information management software as well as online subscription. It is just one part of Granta's solution portfolio for medical device design, which also enables medical device manufacturers to manage and apply their proprietary materials data. A range of these tools will be demonstrated alongside the Medical Materials Database at the MD&M East Conference, in Philadelphia (May 22-24) showing how Granta is making it much easier for device designers to make informed decisions on the selection, substitution, qualification, regulation, and biocompatibility of materials.

The homepage Medical Materials Database homepage—
web browser access makes the resource fast to browse, search, and query.