AUTHOR=Cruz Rena L. J. , Ross Maureen T. , Powell Sean K. , Woodruff Maria A. 

TITLE=Advancements in Soft-Tissue Prosthetics Part A: The Art of Imitating Life

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2020

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2020.00121

DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2020.00121

ISSN=2296-4185

ABSTRACT=Physical disfigurement due to congenital defects, trauma, or cancer causes considerable distress and physical impairment for millions of people worldwide; impacting their economic, psychological and social wellbeing. Since 3000 B.C., prosthetic devices have been used to address these issues by restoring both aesthetics and utility to those with disfigurement. Internationally, academic and industry researchers are constantly developing new materials and manufacturing techniques to provide higher quality and lower cost prostheses to those people who need them. Advanced manufacturing technologies including 3D imaging, modelling, and printing are revolutionising the way prostheses are now made. These new approaches are disrupting the traditional and manual art form of prosthetic production which are laborious and costly and are being replaced by more precise and quantitative processes which enable the rapid, low cost production of patient-specific prostheses. In this two part review, we provide a comprehensive report of past, present and emerging soft-tissue prosthetic materials and manufacturing techniques. In part A, we examine, historically, the ideal properties of a polymeric material when applied in soft-tissue prosthetics. We also detail new research approaches to target specific tissues which commonly require aesthetic restoration (e.g. ear, nose and eyes) and we describe the complexities of both traditional and advanced fabrication methods. In Part B, we focus on the most significant synthetic polymers used in soft-tissue prosthetics; silicone, acrylic resin, vinyl polymer, and polyurethane elastomer. For each polymer, we discuss the chemistry and prosthetics fabrication technicalities, as well as material degradation when used in various prosthetics. As advanced manufacturing transitions from research into practice, the five millennia history of prosthetics enters a new age of economic, personalised, advanced soft tissue prosthetics and with this comes significantly improved quality of life for the people affected by tissue loss.