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ABSTRACT TITLE: Translation of New Materials into Medical Implants We will discuss the translation of a diverse set of new material technologies into medical implants. In all the applications, the implementation of the new materials was accelerated by basic research leading to a new fundamental understanding of the relationship between processing, structure, and mechanical properties of the constituent materials. The examples span implants and new materials that have been successfully used in over in patients for a decade, to materials yet to be cleared in a device by the FDA. The topics to be overviewed include: The development and understanding of deployable shape memory polymers to mitigate damage when reattaching soft tissue to bone. A fundamental breakthrough on the processing and machinability of shape memory alloys to enable a paradigm shift in the success of large bone intramedullary fusion devices. A new approach to the formation of an interconnected surface porosity in a high strength polymer that results in the first ever FDA clearance and clinical success of an all polymer spinal fusion cage with porosity. Finally, 3D printed materials are shown to have promise as implantable materials for both custom and cleared patient specific implants. BIO Professor Gall received his BS, MS, and PhD from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in Mechanical Engineering. He is currently the Chair of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University. His technical expertise is in the creation, modification, understanding, and commercialization of synthetic biomaterials. On the academic side, his materials publications have been cited approximately 16,000 times with an H-index of 69. On the commercial side, he has founded multiple medical device start-ups, including MedShape, Vertera, and Restor3d. MedShape is a fully functioning medical device company developing implants for foot and ankle reconstruction based on shape memory materials. MedShape’s sports medicine division was acquired by Conmed (NASDAQ:CNMD). Vertera created the first spinal fusion implants based on porous polymer technologies and was acquired by Nuvasive (NASDAQ:NUVA). Restor3d is a new venture utilizing 3D printing of polymers and metals to create unique patient specific implants on demand across multiple fields of medicine.