• Question: Do all artificial body parts move in the same way

    Asked by Issy to Ana, Daniel, Todd, Zach on 16 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Zach Welshman

      Zach Welshman answered on 16 Mar 2017:

      Nope! Although i’d go as far as to say 100% of the products are based on mechanical engineering principals such as compression (for prosthetics that’s primary function is to carry load) and all of mechanical engineering principals are based on principles of maths and physics 🙂

    • Photo: Todd Burton

      Todd Burton answered on 16 Mar 2017:

      No, being a bioengineer you have to think about how tissue and body parts move and what sort of forces are acting upon them. The skin is constantly in tension so artificial ski needs to be able to withstand tension. Bones are mostly in compression and so they have different forces.

      As for joints, we have many different types within the body. Ball and socket joint such as those in the hip and shoulder have a different movement to that of the knee or elbow.

    • Photo: Daniel Morse

      Daniel Morse answered on 17 Mar 2017:

      No – they all have different functions, and need to work in different ways.

      It also depends what it is made of.. cell based artificial parts will behave and move differently to a completely robotic/mechanically artificial one.

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