Smart Materials in Medicine
Smart materials are substances that have 1 or more properties that can significantly react to changes in their environment. This means that by changing the external environment in which we place the material, we can manipulate its properties to serve various functions. Due to the rapidly progressive nature of the medical industry, smart materials are gradually becoming more commonplace within the field, serving a number of different applications in detection and treatment. Nitinol, Ferrofluids and Piezoelectric Materials are three examples of smart materials that have either been established, or are currently under development, in the medical industry.