OVERVIEW

The Material Science Course is intended to provide to the students the knowledge and the skills to manage a Biomedical problem concening materials and their properties. Metals, Polymers as well Composites will be introduced and  macroscopic features will be showed to be directly dependant upon the micro and the nano structure of the materials. Bulk and surface features will be highlighted  in order to show their importance for the biocompatibility aspects.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the Course Students should be able to understand the basic features underlying the materials engaged in a Biomedical  Project. Great importance will be given along the Course to the reciprocal interoperability of the adopted materials and the overall interaction of the devices with the natural tissues environment. Consequences related to misuse of materials will be showed along the lessons. Scientific aspects will be highlighted as the most important tools for an engineer called to manage problems over which frequently a gap or an asymmetry of available info exist.  Attention will be also paid on the total costs of the possible different solutions adopted by the students, supporting an industrial mindset greatly requested by the corporate brands.

Materials features will be therefore defined as important parameters to be defined well before the beginning of a Project. As a final part a brief intro to the regulatory affairs and international rules will be provided.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will be driven to analyze a problem concerning materials applications as a whole, with great consequences on several aspects of a real project. Therefore the Material science Course aims will be focussed to provide a sure definition of the technical problems and the the evalutation of possible different solutions based upon the different parameters affecting a scientific and industrial engagement. Students will be requested to apply their knowledge to analyze and evaluate the technical need of some proposed case studies in a scenario of an engineering approach to the evaluated items.

PREREQUISITES

Chemics and Physics exams will be strongly suggested before facing the Material Science Course study.

Teaching methods

Class lessons and discussion of case studies

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Slides and lectures provided by the teacher. In detail : Material Stuctures (Metals and Polymers); production technologies; thermo-mechanical treatments focussed to modify materials bulk properties; energetic treatments applied to clean and modify the surface materials properties; surface - vapour and surface liquid interactions; wetting (static and dynamic); intro to composites (anisotropy of composite materials); intro to regulatory affairs of biomedical materials.

Book Chapters could be provided if any special topics will need it. Suggestions from selected scientific papers will be also debated with the students.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Provided by the teacher

Exam Board

RODOLFO BOTTER (President)

ALBERTO LAGAZZO

FABRIZIO BARBERIS (President Substitute)

Teaching methods

Class lessons and discussion of case studies

LESSONS START

Accordingly to the official calendar

Exam description

Oral Exam with a first topic proposed by the student

Assessment methods

By oral exams

Exam schedule