First Plenary Meeting of LaserImplant (EU Horizon 2020) Held in Austria
After the kick-off 6 months back in January, the 1st Plenary Meeting of LaserImplant project (Grant ID: 951730) was organized and held at Johannes Kepler University (JKU) in Linz, Austria, on the 5th of July, 2021. The partners (JKU, UJM, Manutech-USD, BAM, DPU, HOFER) had very fruitful discussions over various scientific and administration issues related to the project, especially those linked to the next step in-vitro and in-vivo assessments of laser texturised medical implants.
(Photo courtesy JKU)
As agreed by all the participants, the 2nd Plenary Meeting of LaserImplant will be held in July, 2022, in Saint-Etienne, France.
The EIC (European Innovation Council) Proactive project, under the European Horizon 2020 research grant scheme, LaserImplant (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/951730), aims at modifying the surface of medical implants by ultrafast laser pulses in combination with advanced electro-chemical surface treatments. The goal is to control human cells adhesions as a function of the demands of the patient receiving the implant in question. Generally speaking, medical implant application includes dental prostheses where implants consisting of titanium or a titanium alloy should have the capability for fast osseointegration into the jawbone. However, in applications such as bone screws and plates, the implants may have to be removed after some time and should not be completely overgrown by the tissues. The ultimate objective of LaserImplant project is to provide cooperation between academia, research centres, laser-processing device developers and implant producers to develop laser-induced micro-/nanostructures to enable control of cell adhesion to implants. The project addresses the future development of smart medical implants for a broad spectrum of patients’ needs.