[DruulEmpire]

I've a layman's question for any implant experts around here.  We all know that silicone is the best -- right now.  But are there any other materials -- or combinations or materials -- which may yield interesting and useful results?

[MasterDragonfly]

Do you mean "things which have been tried" or "things which have yet to be done"?

If the former, then the following two are probably familiar to you:

- the titanium mesh implant
- fat grafting

If the latter, then my votes are on:

- biotechnology/nanotechnology

....

As I mentioned in a recent thread, I don't think we'll be seeing boobs filled with marshmallows anytime soon.  

[DruulEmpire]

Well, I consider nanotech to be way out (even if possible, might still be a while before I consider it trustworthy).  If biotech covers, say, further growth of natural tissue, then that would be a unique option.

So I guess I'm talking about titanium mesh for right now -- unless you can talk me into biotech.  (Or if "fat grafting" can be a kind of fat transfer, fat from elsewhere in the body shifted to the breasts.)

[derf79]

Taken from beshine's thread:

go to:  http://www.osmed.biz/ --->products--->variations.

"Possibility of Variations


Osmosis expanders can be manufactured in any size and shape, that might be needed in the human body.

osmed can now supply devices with a starting volume of 0,025 - 70 ml with a final volume of 0,24 - 650 ml.

The swelling factor varies between 3 and 40. Shape and final volume are determined during manufacturing. A memory effect ensures that exact these parameters are reached in vivo."

This sounds very promising! The company is actually very new and short on capital. I'm sure the right investor could bring a 6000cc expander(which would be implanted at 2000cc) to market with a stock purchase of, say 150,000 euro or so...

[Djoser]

As for nanotechnology and biotecnology we're still worlds behind getting significative results for it, but the potential of both technologies is certainly extraordinary.

[ValNTx]

Stating Silicone is "the best" is matter of opinion and depends on your definition of "best".  For example, if you mean "feels more like natural breasts", then you're right.

If your goal is the big round fake look, major overfilling is one of the best ways to this look and to my knowledge, saline is still the only option for overfill.

[MasterDragonfly]

I suppose of course that if a manufacturer decides to create an overfilled silicone implant, that would create interesting options.

[Melons]

I bed to differ.

You are most likely already using things that employ nanotech. What you are probably thinking of is nanites (tiny machines) and we already do make progress there.

We are able to place a single atom and there are scientists who seriously believe that technology similar to the replicators in startrek will be widely available in 20 to 50 years. More conservative scientists say 100 years.

This is nanotech too. Also the lotus surface structure or the coating on hip implants.

We are also very close to major break throughs on the bio-tech front and some of the research is already used.

So don't be surprised if what you are looking for is possible sooner than you thought.

In any case we need an implant material, that moves naturally (or not), is lighter than fat or current implants but s also stable in ints form without being totally hard but rather soft.

A filling with any gas is a too high risks if it leaks since it could kill if it gets in the blood.

But it would be awsome if you could have boobs as big as basketballs that weight just 500g or 1000g.

[MasterDragonfly]

I'd find it interesting to see some sort of biotech (not sure if it would be using a protein-based computer, or what), whether in the form of pill or injectible (or transdermal cream, for that matter), but what I envision as possibly the first step would be some sort of flat but flexible disk which gets inserted through a breast fold incision.

Once placed, the disk would first match up with neighbour cells so that it would be able to create more cells which wouldn't automatically be rejected, then start some sort of symmetric growth.  Some thought would need to be put into this, so that the appropriate rate of growth from different points on the disk will occur.  You don't want something growing into the shape of a tennis ball any more than you'd want it to assume the shape of a small football.  Or a cylinder.  I'm sure those who are into advanced mathematics would have a good idea how to specify this algorithm (deterministic vs non-deterministic).

And of course there's the ever-critical threshold, and how to set that flag.

Random thoughts.  

[Erowyn]

Quote:
MasterDragonfly said:
I'd find it interesting to see some sort of biotech (not sure if it would be using a protein-based computer, or what), whether in the form of pill or injectible (or transdermal cream, for that matter), but what I envision as possibly the first step would be some sort of flat but flexible disk which gets inserted through a breast fold incision.

Once placed, the disk would first match up with neighbour cells so that it would be able to create more cells which wouldn't automatically be rejected, then start some sort of symmetric growth.  Some thought would need to be put into this, so that the appropriate rate of growth from different points on the disk will occur.  You don't want something growing into the shape of a tennis ball any more than you'd want it to assume the shape of a small football.  Or a cylinder.  I'm sure those who are into advanced mathematics would have a good idea how to specify this algorithm (deterministic vs non-deterministic).

And of course there's the ever-critical threshold, and how to set that flag.

Random thoughts.  

From the: NewScientist.com news service
Date: 18 February 2005

Stem Cells turn into Breast Implants

Silicone breast implants could be replaced by tissue grown from a person's own stem cells within a decade, suggests new research.

Jeremy Mao of the University of Illinois, in Chicago, US, took human stem cells and used these to grow fat tissue using a biologically compatible scaffolding. He then successfully implanted the tissue into mice with an immune deficiency to prevent them from rejecting the implants. The implants had maintained their size and shape after four weeks.

"This is a project that builds on previous knowledge to develop a stem cell material that could be useful in society," says Mao. "It seems promising and could soon be making an impact."

Implants grown from stem cells could provide a safer alternative to silicone or saline implants, which can rupture and also interfere with breast cancer detection. They could also be aesthetically superior, keeping their shape and size for longer than artificial inserts, which typically shrink by 40% to 60% over many years, through spreading.

Reconstructive surgery
Eventually Mao says the technique could be used to develop more suitable tissue for reconstructive surgery as well as cosmetic augmentation.

The experiment involved key-hole surgery to extract mesenchymal stem cells from human bone marrow. These "master cells" can grow into various other different types of cells, including bone cartilage and fat. Mao coaxed them to develop into fat cells by mimicking the conditions that would cause this to happen in the human body.

The cells were then moulded into shape using a hydrogel scaffold and inserted into mice for a period of four weeks. Following implantation the eight mice involved in the study suffered no discernable ill effects and their implants maintained their original size and shape for the entire month. This is substantially longer than artificial inserts, which normally begin to deform after a week or two.

Mao believes breast implants grown from stem cells could be available within a decade. Ideally, the scaffold would disintegrate safely inside the body as the implant grows, he says.

Growth factors
But he admits that several questions remain over the viability of grown implants, including how they will react to surrounding tissues and whether any special growth factors might be required.

Donald Ingber, of Harvard Medical School, part of Harvard University in Massachusetts, US, says the work, which will appear in the April issue Tissue Engineering, is promising. But he cautions that more complex cell techniques may be needed to grow viable implants for humans. "The breast is more than just fat," he says. "And you might want specific patterns of growth rather than just growth."

But Ingber told New Scientist that it might be possible to engineer controlled growth using alternative types of scaffolding or by chemically treating surrounding cells so that they manage the growth of the new ones.

Mao presented the work at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday.

[MasterDragonfly]

Yup, familiar with the stem cells making for good breast augmentation.  However, I don't think it's the case of stuffing a thin disk into the breast.  As far as I know, the stem cells are used to create the completed shape, and the completed shape is then surgically implanted.

Check out my site for snippets on Cytori Therapeutics.

That said, I'm still thinking in terms of having a programmable device which is extremely thin, but has the instructions to tell the body to grow to a certain shape and size, not stopping until that endpoint is reached (think of a "while" or "until" loop in programming), but defintely stopping once reached.

[Juno]

Actually a urethane silicone copolymer shell has excellent potential.  Shell thickness and strength is always a balancing act.  Thick shells do not have aesthetically pleasing results.  Thin shells are too weak.  A urethane silicone copolymer can produce a shell that is 1/10 the thickness of a silicone shell and many times stronger.

[DruulEmpire]

Don't mind me, just giving this a once-in-two-months bump so I can keep track of it ...

[sander815]

 

Quote:
  say 150,000 euro or so...

are you serious? 150.000 euro?

[DruulEmpire]

Semi-annual *BUMP*