A researcher from Cambridge University’s engineering department has been awarded a €1.5m (£0.9m) grant from the European Research Council (ERC) to set up a research group to improve the lifespan of prosthetic implants such as hip replacements.
Researcher Athina Markaki and her team are working on a therapy whereby controlled levels of mechanical strain could be induced directly in growing bone via the prosthesis itself.
The idea is that the implant should have a highly porous surface layer, made by bonding ferromagnetic fibres together, into which bone tissue growth would occur. During the pos...
