Precious metals: Today’s Medical Developments

2025.12.4

Source: Today’s Medical Developments
Date: February 20, 2025

Precious metals: Understanding and achieving the key characteristics of precious metals designed for deployment in innovative medical devices and implants.

Materials and components made from high-quality precious metals are playing a growing role in medical devices for a wide variety of procedures including cardiovascular, peripheral vascular, neurovascular, and mammography. The following is a summary of precious metals and their characteristics and expectations in the medical industry.

Biocompatibility

Medical devices coming into contact with human tissue and fluids must be safe, nontoxic, non-irritating, and not encourage blood clotting, inflammation, or other postoperative complications. Consequently, the proven biocompatibility of precious metals such as platinum, iridium, and gold have made them preferred choices for more cardiovascular, dental, and orthopedic implants as well as other medical devices.

Radiopacity

Radiopaque properties vary widely among the different precious metals, and this is a huge factor in their viability as components of electrodes, sensors, and other devices that must be visible under X-ray imaging.

Additional considerations

The precious metals industry is adapting to meet the medical device industry’s needs. ISO 13485, Medical devices – Quality management systems – Requirements for regulatory purposes, for example, is a crucial standard in the space, defining a widely cited framework designed to contribute to the consistent design, development, production, and delivery of medical devices that are safe for their specified purposes.

As the healthcare industry continues its shift toward more minimally and non-invasive procedures and remote, long-term patient monitoring, key unique properties of precious metals and ongoing innovation in their development stand to expand their role across the gamut of medical devices.

＜Precious Metal Fine Wire＞