Materials technology has a fundamental impact on the performance and viability of medical devices. Cardiovascular applications are particularly materials intensive, with entire product innovations enabled by the materials used for product construction. Many devices require a complex combination of mechanical, physical, and biological response properties to ensure cost-effective manufacture, straightforward deployment, and effective, reliable use - along with the ability to degrade over time with no adverse effects.

This unique volume combines engineering property data with detailed biological response information, presented in a consistent data sheet format, for the materials and coatings for cardiovascular medical devices. The emphasis is on materials and coatings used in FDA-approved implantable devices.

The content of the book was excerpted and adapted from the ASM Medical Materials Database, the only comprehensive database created specifically for medical device design. The database -- developed in partnership between ASM International and Granta Design -- is the product of a significant, ongoing effort to collate, organize, and index relevant materials information. Its content is the product of thousands of hours of data acquisition, peer-review, and verification by specialists, guided by the ASM Medical Materials Database Committee, an advisory group of industrial and academic experts. All of the data is fully traceable to its sources. It includes thousands of citations to published literature, FDA device approvals, manufacturers' datasheets, and Web sites.