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15 - General Engineering
University of Leicester
A phenomenological model for the degradation of biodegradable polymers
An implanted medical device that ‘disappears’ after serving its function is extremely attractive. Bioabsorbable coronary stents is leading a quantum leap in cardiology. Tissue engineering, which uses bioabsorbable polymer foam as scaffold, is revolutionising medicine. Until recently, device design has been entirely based on trial and error. Since 2008, Pan and his team have developed a complete mathematical framework for computer modelling of device degradation. This paper is the first of 14 journal publications by the team on this topic. Focusing on amorphous polymers, it laid the foundation for subsequent work and has been followed by other groups worldwide.