Biomaterials are used in the manufacture of medical implants, particularly those used in orthopaedic surgery (screws, plates, etc.), vascular surgery (stents, etc.) and dental implantology (screws, abutments, etc.). They can be used to replace a lost or diseased biological structure, or to restore a function or shape. In this way, biomaterials help to improve the quality of life of an ageing population. Ti implants are widely used in the dental field, where they face real clinical problems linked to the slow biological response on their surface, slow osseointegration and bacterial colonisation, which leads to loosening of the implant and therefore its loss of viability. The Ti biomaterial is a substrate that allows bacteria-surface interactions and microbial accumulation that can lead to implant failure, necessitating its removal, generating serious oral health problems for patients and impairing their quality of life. Surface modifications are therefore necessary to optimise their functional properties.
In this context, the innovation provided by the SAFE project is the development and combination of plasma and dry surface treatment technologies to microstructure and nanostructure the surface (Ti) to meet the demanding specifications of clinicians and hospitals and to innovate in the development of biomaterials. The proposed combination of plasma technologies has not yet been considered in other projects, and could lead to an increase from TRL 3 to TRL 7 for titanium dental implants as well as for endoscope by developing multifunctional layers. To achieve this objective, the project will draw on the complementary expertise of the cross-border teams. These include experts in wet and dry process technologies (UMONS, UGent), technology and performance upscaling (Materia Nova, CRITT), and in-depth characterisation (ULille, UPHF, Materia Nova and UMONS). These skills are to be found on both sides of the Belgian border, in the case of development, and on the French side, in the case of characterisation. The pooling of cross-border expertise is a remarkable opportunity to innovate in the field of implants by developing new deposition and characterisation technologies that can then have an impact on the target audiences in the Interreg zone (companies, clinicians, scientists and the general public). The SAFE project will also provide the medical and industrial sectors with a characterisation technology platform that will help them to develop new biomaterials and disseminate research results thanks to the partnership initiated with associated operators (CHULille, CH EpiCura, CHU Helora, UZGent, BioWin, etc.). The beneficiaries of this project will be: the ageing population or those subject to fractures, hospitals through the development of more effective implants that meet their specifications, SMEs through the provision of a technological platform and privileged contact with users, and operators through the broadening of their field of expertise.