Life-enhancing Plastics: Plastics And Other Materials In Medical Applications: 2 (Series On Biomaterials And Bioengineering) - Hardcover

Holmes-walker, W Anthony

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1860944620 ISBN 13: 9781860944628

Publisher: Imperial College Press, 2004

Synopsis

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.

Edition details

• Publisher: Imperial College Press
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1860944620
• ISBN 13: 9781860944628
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 232