Shape memory alloy R&D is progressing rapidly, with the medical field becoming a major application market.
志联
2025-04-26
In the shape memory alloy industry chain, the upstream mainly consists of various metal raw materials such as titanium, copper, and iron; because shape memory alloys possess shape memory effect, superelasticity, high damping characteristics, and resistance characteristics, they are difficult to be replaced by other materials. Its downstream industries mainly include biomedicine, aerospace, mechanical electronics, bridge construction, and automobile manufacturing, with a wide range of applications.
Although shape memory alloys have a wide range of uses, the demand and product characteristics requirements of various industries vary greatly. Shape memory alloy companies will also develop relevant products specifically for the needs of specific markets.
From the perspective of patent technology, since 2009, the number of patent applications in China's shape memory alloy industry has shown an upward trend, reaching a peak in 2016 with a total of 676 patent applications. Although the number decreased slightly in 2017, the overall increase is significant. The industry is in a period of rapid development, and companies are striving to develop new products to meet the needs of the downstream market.
From the classification of shape memory alloy patent fields, medicine/veterinary medicine/hygiene is the largest research and development market, accounting for about 22% of the total number of patents.
Currently, the domestic shape memory alloy industry market is mainly used in the medical field, automobiles, robots, and aviation. In 2017, the market size of China's shape memory alloy industry was approximately 5.68 billion yuan, of which the medical field accounted for 4.35 billion yuan; other fields (automobiles, robots, aviation, etc.) reached 1.33 billion yuan. Further subdivided, biomedical is the most important market for the shape memory alloy industry; shape memory alloys have been widely used in the field of medical devices, including dentistry, thoracic surgery, hepatobiliary surgery, urology, gynecology, cardiovascular surgery, cerebrovascular surgery, and orthopedic surgery.
Medical and health care consumption expenditure and increased surgical demand reflect the growth of the shape memory alloy market.
In recent years, with the improvement of residents' income levels and the aging process of the national population structure, residents' medical and health care consumption expenditure has increased year by year. In the five years from 2013 to 2017, the national residents' medical and health care consumption expenditure increased by 59%, while the GDP growth rate was only 39%, exceeding the growth rate by nearly 20 percentage points; at the same time, the number of hospitalized patients undergoing surgery in China has increased significantly, with a 55% increase in the four years from 2013 to 2016. Residents' demand for surgery is constantly increasing, and it is expected to maintain a high growth rate in the future.
Most of the medical uses of shape memory alloys involve surgical procedures. Therefore, the number of surgeries can serve as a good proxy variable for the demand for memory alloys, reflecting the trend of industry demand changes. The continuously increasing medical consumption expenditure and the number of surgeries reflect the expanding development space of China's biomedical memory alloy industry and the emergence of investment value.
The most widely used in medicine is porous NiTinol-titanium shape memory alloy, mainly used for the replacement and repair of human bones. NiTinol has a strength comparable to that of human bones, and its porous characteristics ensure that after implantation into the human body, it will not loosen or shift due to the encapsulation of fibrous tissue, resulting in failure, allowing the implant to form a strong bond with the repaired bone tissue; its shape memory effect, superior to other materials, makes the implantation process easier, reduces the difficulty of surgery, and reduces the patient's pain. A lot of research has been done on the biocompatibility of NiTinols and the human body, and new materials can even promote bone growth, greatly reducing the rejection reaction between the implant and the body tissue.
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