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This book enables readers without specialist knowledge to understand the ways in which materials can be used to enhance people's lives. The range is vast — from simple contact uses, through artificial limbs, to permanently implanted devices.
To appreciate the medical applications of materials, it is necessary to understand why they are used. Therefore, a discussion on the nature and behaviour of materials is preceded by a survey of the evolution of modern surgical techniques. The effect of “foreign” materials on the body's immune system is then considered, followed by a study of specific uses of materials, including extra-corporeal machines and implanted devices.
The last chapter deals with new and highly sophisticated techniques — including minimal access surgery, robotics, nanotechnology, natural polymers, and the growth of “artificial” organs — and concludes with a look at the future.
Contents:
- Surgical Techniques
- Material Properties
- Materials in a Hostile Environment
- Contact Applications
- Short Term Contact Devices
- Medium Term Implants
- Permanent Implants
- Load-Bearing Implants
- The Tools of the Surgeon
- Meeting New Challenges
Readership: Non-specialist readers wishing to learn about the use of materials in medicine; engineers, scientists and medical students.
