Summary of the National Conference on Challenges in Biomaterials Research jointly organized by VIT and CSIR-CECRI

Abstract

Geetha Manivasagam,1 Balasubramanian Subramanian,2 Thomas J Webster3,4 1Centre for Biomaterials Science and Technology, School of Mechanical and Building Sciences, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India; 2Electrochemical Materials Science Division, CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, India; 3Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; 4Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaHealth care has become one of the highest priority research fields of this century owing to the dramatic increase in the number of people affected by various diseases. Health care costs and the high demand for biomaterials have placed tremendous pressure on government funding agencies and researchers to develop cost-effective, appropriate biomaterials to treat various diseases and to regenerate diseased and fractured organs. The field of biomaterials is projected to generate approximately $80 billion by the end of this decade. Thus, various funding organizations have allocated considerable funding for the development of the next generation of biomaterials. Despite the fact that certain global regions and countries (such as the US, Europe, Australia, Brazil, and the People’s Republic of China) have considerable expertise in the manufacturing of various biomaterials, India has developed considerable expertise in specifically manufacturing cardiovascular and orthopedic implants over the past 3 decades.