Review of Application of Nitinol in the Manufacture of Bone Staples

Abstract

Nickel titanium (commonly known as nitinol) is an alloy of nickel and titanium and is a nearly equiatomic alloy of nickel and titanium which exhibits two unique and closely related properties: shape memory effect and pseudoelasticity (also known as superelasticity). First discovered in 1959, these properties of nitinol have been exhaustively exploited in a multitude of applications in the robotics, aerospace, automotive, telecommunications and biomedical industries. Considering the fact that biocompatibility and biofunctionality are the primary attributes that a material must possess to qualify for use in the biomedical implant industry, nitinol is a premier choice. In this paper, in conjunction with the previously used orthopaedic implants, the design and advantages of the bone staple are discussed. A review of past and present materials used for manufacture of bone staples follows with a review of the methods available for manufacture of nitinol. This paper concludes that until a material possessing more biofunctionality and biocompatibility is discovered, nitinol is an ideal material for manufacture of bone staples.