A joint effort of bioengineers at the University College London Center for Bioengineering and orthopaedic surgeons at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore, the device—formally called an extendable—was 11 years in the making. The field, known officially as limb salvage, has begun helping young bone cancer patients whose prognosis, only a decade ago, would have been amputation. The Wright prosthesis—invented by French engineer Arnaud Soubeiran—and the Stanmore design both embody machines that literally stand in for Jiving tissue, which had gone bad. They practically duplicate growing cells. The Repiphysis line up of implantable, growing prostheses relies on the release of spring energy within a softening polymer for adding length to a child’s limb. The article also highlights that distinct from the Stanford degrees in biomechanical engineering, the MS and PhD programs in bioengineering will combine courses in biology, engineering, and medicine in such areas as regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, biomedical computation, cellular and molecular systems, and quantitative biology.
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February 2004
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The Machinery of Life
Between Physics and Biology Lies a Rift in Language that Doctors and Engineers Must Cross Before they Heal the Sick.
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Mechanical Engineering. Feb 2004, 126(02): 30-34 (5 pages)
Published Online: February 1, 2004
Citation
Sharke, P. (February 1, 2004). "The Machinery of Life." ASME. Mechanical Engineering. February 2004; 126(02): 30–34. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2004-FEB-2
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