Foreword

The addition of Volume 23, Materials for Medical Devices, to the ASM Handbook series complements both the series and ASM International's Medical Materials product line. Originally envisioned as a second edition of ASM's Handbook of Materials for Medical Devices, published in 2003, Volume 23 features brand new content that greatly expands the scope and depth of coverage, including a more in-depth discussion of the most common materials used in medical devices. State-of-the-art reference information is given for implant materials including stainless steels, cobalt-base alloys, titanium, shape memory alloys, noble metals, ceramics, and polymers.

The growing need for reliable materials information by the medical devices community has resulted in a number of new ASM products, events, and services, including the ASM Medical Materials Database, the Human Biological Materials Database, educational seminars, conferences and expositions, newsletters, daily newswire updates, and online education courses. These products have been developed to fill the knowledge gap between the innovators who design medical devices and the materials researchers and engineers who best understand materials and their capabilities.

ASM International is grateful to the many volunteers who dedicated their time and expertise as authors and reviewers for Volume 23. These professionals are a source of both medical and materials information and freely offer their knowledge in this book.