Many patients around the world are breathing more comfortably with the help of a tiny nickel-containing valve implant that works much like those easy-squeeze ketchup bottle tops.

You may recall the hit American TV show “The Six Million Dollar Man” that ran for five seasons in the mid-1970s. The show featured an astronaut—Colonel Steve Austin—who had been badly injured in a crash. Doctors decided to rebuild him “better…stronger…faster.” It was science fiction then...

Continued advancements in medical technologies are prolonging lives all over the world. The development of new uses of metals and alloys in internal and external medical applications has stimulated the progress being made.

It’s a fast-growing sector fueling innovation and refinement of stainless steel alloy applications around the world. The global surgical instruments and equipment market is expected to double within the next decade. And nickel-containing materials are playing an important role.

A breakthrough in nanowire technology is enabling researchers to dig deeper into the science of how the brain works, and help identify the most effective drugs for neurological diseases.

As a metal alloy composed of nickel and titanium in approximately equal atomic percentages, Nitinol exhibits the unique properties of super-elasticity and shape memory effect.

With an aging population, demand is stronger than ever for pacemakers and defibrillators. With increased usage of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), it is important that permanent implants are made from non-magnetic materials, such as UNS R 30035.