Medical device and surface modification method for medical device

1. A medical device comprising:

a main body which is an artificial prosthetic member made of metal or ceramics; and

a metallic porous sintered body joined to at least a part of a surface of the main body,

wherein the metallic porous sintered body is made of a sintered metal powder and includes a plurality of metallic porous thin layers including a first thin layer joining to the main body and a second thin layer coming in contact with living tissue,

a porosity of the first thin layer is lower than the second thin layer,

the porosity of each of the metallic porous thin layers is in the range of 40 to 97%,

each of the first and second porous thin layers is prepared by molding a slurry, which contains a metal powder and a foaming agent, into a sheet shape by a doctor blade method, subjecting the slurry to a foaming process, drying the slurry, and defatting and sintering the resulting compact,

an average pore diameter in the first and the second thin layers is in the range of 20 to 800 μm,

each of the first and second thin layers has a three-dimensionally-open pore structure in a substantially spherical shape defined by foams formed by an action of the foaming agent in the foaming process, and

a specific surface area of each of the first and the second thin layers is in a range of 0.01 to 0.5 m 2 /g.

2. The medical device according to claim 1 ,

wherein the metallic porous sintered body includes at least one metal selected from pure titanium, a titanium alloy, stainless steel, a cobalt chrome alloy, tantalum, niobium, and an alloy thereof.

3. The medical device according to claim 2 ,

wherein the metal is the same kind as used for the main body of a medical device.

4. The medical device according to claim 1 ,

wherein a surface of a skeleton including the sintered metal powder of the metallic porous sintered body is covered with an inorganic compound having biocompatibility.

5. The medical device according to claim 4 ,

wherein the inorganic compound is selected from calcium phosphate, hydroxyapatite, and metal oxide including titanium oxide.

6. The medical device according to claim 1 ,

wherein a porosity of the first thin plate is in a range of 50 to 85%, and a porosity of the second thin plate is in the range of 80 to 95%.

7. The medical device according to claim 1 ,

wherein each of the first and second thin layers contains multiple pores that are disposed at a different level in a thickness direction.

8. The medical device according to claim 1 ,

wherein no pore of the three-dimensionally-open pore structure extends completely through the first or second porous thin layers.