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CC BY 4.0 · Indian Journal of Neurosurgery 2025; 14(S 01): S1-S6
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1808065
Review Article

NiTinol: A Review of its Smart Properties that Make it a Smart Alloy and a Strong Ally in Endovascular Neurosurgery

Autoren

  • Dibya Jyoti Mahakul

    1   Department of Neurosurgery, Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Delhi, India

  • Jaya Agarwal

    2   Department of Solid Organ Transplant and HPB Surgery, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad, Haryana, India

  • Dinesh Bhandarkar

    1   Department of Neurosurgery, Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Delhi, India

  • Bhanu Teja AP

    1   Department of Neurosurgery, Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Delhi, India

  • Ananthakumar Murugavel

    1   Department of Neurosurgery, Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Delhi, India

  • Anita Jagetia 

    1   Department of Neurosurgery, Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Delhi, India
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Abstract

Nitinol is an equiatomic alloy of nickel and titanium. Its unique properties like “superelasticity” and “shape memory” have made it one of the most commonly used materials for manufacturing hardware in endovascular neurosurgery. The solid state of nitinol has two interconvertible (austenite and martensite) phases. With increasing temperature, the martensite phase gets transformed into the austenite phase (thermal phase transformation), and thus remembers the shape that it had in the austenite phase (shape memory effect). This forms the basis behind the use of nitinol in making self-expandable stents. The other property of “superelasticity” is attributed to the stress-induced phase transition that occurs when nitinol in its austenite phase is subjected to a deforming force. Once the force is removed, nitinol reverts back to its original shape. This forms the basis for the use of nitinol in making kink-resistant wires and catheters. The mechanism by which this phase transition is utilized to exploit these above-mentioned properties can be understood from the physical structure of the alloy. This in-depth knowledge of metallurgy is instrumental while choosing the right hardware for a procedure and shall help in further research at the basic science level. It will also lead to a better two-way communication between the biomedical engineer in the laboratory and the clinician in the operating room.

Keywords

nitinol - phase transition - shape memory alloy - smart alloy - superelasticity


Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
21. Mai 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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