In U.S. Patent Application 20090325775, Nan-Hui Yeh (Taipei City, TW) reveals a method for manufacturing a bioactive glass ceramic material. A bone graft made of the bioactive glass ceramic material can be transplanted into the human body and where it can speed up the growth of the broken bone. The time to recovery can be substantially shortened.
An experiment showed the mechanical (strength) properties, in particular the bending strength, that bending strength, of the bioactive glass ceramic material created by Yeh is approximately two (2) to four (4) times of that of existing bioactive glass materials.
The first step in making the bioactive glass is to prepare a calcium phosphate series ceramic material and a nano-scaled titanium dioxide powder with a specific proportion of anatase type titanium dioxide structure. Then, the calcium phosphate series ceramic material and the nano-scaled titanium dioxide powder are mixed according to a specific proportion for obtaining a mixture. The mixture is then melted and quenched to form a biomedical glass. Finally, the biomedical glass can be further ground into a biomedical glass powder, and a heat treatment can be applied to recrystalize the powder so as to obtain the bioactive glass ceramic material.
Also, the bioactive glass ceramic material can be further polarized into a electrified bioactive glass ceramic material which can promote the growth of a broken bone, according to Yeh.
FIG. 1 is a flow chart for making bioactive glass ceramic material according to Nan-Hui Yeh’s method.
FIG. 6 is an embodiment showing how a broken bone grows and recovers when the non-polarized bioactive glass ceramic material has been transplanted into rabbit's body. The bioactive glass ceramic material also can be implanted into the human body, where it can promote the growth of a broken bone and thereby expedite the bone recovery, according to Yeh.
The BM represents a bone marrow; the FC represents fat cells; the IM represents where the bioactive glass ceramic material is implanted; the P represents granule of the non-polarized calcium phosphate material with titanium dioxide; the NB represents newborn osteocytes; the OB represents osteoblasts; the OC represents osteocytes; and, the SC represents interstitial cells.
The non-polarized calcium phosphate material with titanium dioxide is implanted into rabbit's tibia located near and beneath the patella tendon insertion by 0.5 cm. The neighboring area of the implanted non-polarized calcium phosphate material is dyed and enlarged by 200 times. It is readily viewed that quite a few osteoblasts are aligned along the rim of the newborn osteocytes in a typical shape of cuboid. It also shows that a bone formation process (osteogenesis) is vigorously progressed. The bone cells of the newborn osteocytes are crisp clear, and it implies that the bone mineralization has not yet been complete.
