Embroidery in Medical Textiles

Textile structures such as medical implants are widely used to replace and support soft tissues and can act as scaffolds in tissue engineering as they have the ability to provide optimal spatial and nutritional conditions for cell maintenance. Tissue engineering textiles and surgical implants have been used in vitro on tissues such as the liver, skin, bone, cartilage and muscle, including non-woven, woven and knitted fabrics.

An example of an embroidered surgical implant.

Embroidery technology allows the creation of highly complex 3D structures that can integrate structure dependent functions in the tissue, such as pore patterns and the ability to adjust a wide range of mechanical properties to match the properties of the host tissue.

As opposed to weaving where threads are arranged at flat angles, embroidery allows rounded shapes which enables the use of embroidered stents in the body, such as the one pictured above. This is used to repair abdominal aortic aneurysms, swellings in the main wall of the aorta, that are likely to rupture and can prove fatal.

An embroidered Tissue Scaffold.

What this highlights to me is just how significant textile technology is when it has the ability to save countless numbers of lives, it's just a brilliant use of textiles that often goes unnoticed. A number of people have told me that textile design is 'boring' and 'easy' when they ask me what I'm studying, and now I have yet another example of why they are just so wrong, not to mention patronising.

References:
Anand S (2001), 'Medical Textiles '99. Proceeding of the International Conference 24 & 25 August 1999', Woodhead Publishing Limited, p 200-6.

Wintermantel E, Mayer J, Eckert KL, Lüscher P, Mathey M (1996) 'Tissue Engineering Scaffolds Using Superstructures', Biomaterials, 17 p 18-92
http://www.swicofil.com/biomedical_textiles.http://www.tex.tuiasi.ro/biblioteca/carti/CARTI/Textile/Smart%20Fibres,%20Fabrics%20and%20Clothing/014.pdf

Image sources:
http://frankly.folksy.com/2011/11/18/the-power-of-making

http://www.amycongdon.com/?_escaped_fragment_=symbiotica-biological-bespoke/c1rgv

http://www.ellisdev.co.uk/vascular.html