Could wood be a practical replacement for bone? Researchers from the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) writing in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management …
Biloine W. Young • Fri, December 21st, 2012
Could wood be a practical replacement for bone? Researchers from the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) writing in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management suggest that it can. It turns out that the structure of some woods at the microscopic level is very close to that of natural bone; both have unique biomechanical properties such as high strength and lightness.
Two researchers in Italy, Ugo Finardi (Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth-CERIS-CNR, and University of Torino), and Simone Sprio (Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics – ISTEC-CNR), have carried out a case study on the implications of a new technology recently developed by the Research Group on Biomaterials of ISTEC. In that work, the researchers, Anna Tampieri, Simone Sprio and Andrea Ruffini, used a nanotechnological approach to transform rattan wood into hierarchically organized implants.
