Medical applications of shape memory polymers

Shape memory polymers (SMP) are lightweight, have a high strain/shape recovery ability, are easy to process, and required properties can be tailored for variety of applications. Recently a number of medical applications have been considered and investigated, especially for polyurethane-based SMP. SMP materials were found to be biocompatible, non-toxic and non-mutagenic. The glass transition temperature (Tg) can be tailored for shape restoration/self-deployment of clinical devices when inserted in the human body. Newly developed SMP foams, together with cold hibernated elastic memory (CHEM) processing, further broaden their potential biomedical applications. Polyurethane-based SMP are described here and major advantages are identified over other medical materials. Some SMP applications are already used in a clinical setting, whereas others are still in development. Lately, several important applications are being considered for CHEM foams as self-deployable vascular and coronary devices. One example is the endovascular treatment of aneurysms. (review article)