Cardiac irregularity, Parkinson’s, hearing and vision loss – medical implants are already helping to improve the quality of life for patients with chronic diseases. However, procedures that are routine for adults often bump up against the limits of what medicine can do when it comes to the tiny vessels of infants and children. This is the case with children suffering from heart conditions: The structure of the implants is simply too large for their small bodies.
CerMet, an innovative Heraeus material system made up of ceramic and platinum, makes it possible to make implants smaller than ever before. “We can now fit small children and infants with miniaturized medical implants. More circuit paths in a smaller space allow for more reliable, targeted, and efficient applications,” explains Jens Trötzschel, Heraeus Medical Components, highlighting the benefits of CerMet technology.
This innovation also makes possible entirely new applications in other areas of medical implants, such as nerve stimulation in the brain.
Heraeus customers selected this innovation as among the most important, and CerMet technology is receiving the Customer Focus Award in addition to the Konrad Ruthardt Award for the best innovation in the category of product, process, or business model.