Triennial the Division of Biomedical Engineering of the Institute of Textile Technology and Chemical Engineering, Denkendorf, is organizing conferences on specific topics in the field of polymeric materials for use in the biomedical areas. The aim is to bring together scientists from allover the world working on this speci fic topic, to present the newest state of the art and to discuss their problems in a more concentrated atmosphere and at last to create and intensivate their cooperation. Following two conferences on "Polyurethanes in Biomedical Engi neering" (1983 and 1986), the Institute of Textile Technology and Chemical Engineering set a theme, which is very closely related to its own task: "Medical Textiles for Implantation". As technical materials, textiles can be classified in two fields of application: - first, textiles used for highly flexible, strong, but only tension load bearing systems, e.g. tows; - second, textiles manufactured to flat shaped devices to separate two regions more or less semipermeable, e.g. clothing; - a combination of both are reinforced systems like tubular fabrics e.g.; here pressure load will be transformed to tensile load, the separation may be performed by a coating. In the biological systems the classification can be used in the same manner: - Tension load bearing structures are ligaments and tendons, semipermeable separation is realized by cell membranes as well as by cell layers, for example the skin. - The combination of both of the principles can be found for example in arteries and the trachea.

Tradi tionally, the International lTV - Conferences on Biomate rials are focussing on problems in Biomedical Engineering, problems, which are still unsolved, of main interest, and which are of interdisciplinary character. In 1983, the Division of Biomedical Engineering of the Institute of Textile Technology and Chemical Engineering, Denkendorf, started wi th a conference about the use of polyurethanes in biomedicine. Three years later, . in 1986, progress in development and use of polyurethanes was selected as conference topic. It had to be realized that degradation problems were still dominating the discussions. The main discussion topics were: What are the causes for the degradation? How can one prevent them? What are the degradation products, and do they affect the human body? How can one simu late the degradation? How can one accelerate the in vitro tests and how can the results predict the in vivo behaviour of the material? How do in vitro tests correlate with animal tests and the behaviour in the human body? At the third conference in 1989, the speakers focused on the use of textiles in medicine. Again the problem of degradation was discussed intensively and demonstrated by the failure of textile implants, the degradation of aramide polymers or the degradation of resorbable suture materials. The examples make clear, that degradation may be a desired or undesired property of an implant."