Scanning electron micrograph showing a bone cell attaching to titanium
Osseointegration
We adhere to the principles of Osseointegration, a term founded by Professor Per-Ingvar Brånemark after his important breakthrough in the 1950s when he discovered that bone can integrate with titanium components.
Professor Brånemark named his discovery from the Latin word os – which means bone, and integrate – which means make whole, which can also be expressed as interactive coexistence.
A titanium screw-shaped implant – fixture – is carefully placed in the bone and – amazingly enough – the genetic code that commonly makes bone reject a foreign material is not activated. Instead nature allows bone cells to attach to the titanium surface and the result is a firm and permanent anchorage for a prosthetic reconstruction.
Osseoperception
Osseointegration is a living process. The fixtures are inserted under controlled conditions without load-related relative motion. They are usually allowed to integrate during a 3-6 months healing period.
Once Osseointegrated, the fixtures are connected to the prosthetic replacement and consequent forces are transmitted via the fixtures to the surrounding bone. The bone responds by initiating a continuous process during which it remodels itself to a state of balance around the implants.
Through this normal biological activity, the fixtures not only become part of the body – but also of the mind. Professor Brånemark has named this mental acceptance osseoperception
Osseoperception is particularly valuable when bone anchored prosthetic replacements communicate with the mind in order to enable restored function. One example involves a patient who can pick up a key using a bone-anchored thumb prosthesis
