A medical device dubbed the Smart Hip is aimed at cutting down on hip surgeries while generating bone tissue via a few capsules, sensors and actuators with a dash of Bluetooth.
The Smart Hip was developed by Clara Frias, a 29-year-old PhD in Engineering Sciences from the Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto (FEUP) and researcher at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Management (INEGI).
Smart Hip’s technology via Science Daily is based on the application of sensors in capsules and hip implants designed to sniff out potential problems and stimulate bone growth. Here’s the translated statement from the University of Porto.
There are roughly 1 million hip surgeries a year in Europe and the U.S. and 5 percent to 10 percent of them generate complications and the surgeries that follow. The Smart Hip is designed to cut down on those complications.
As for the nuts and bolts, the University of Porto describes the smart hip this way:
The Smart Hip is a network of capsules, measuring sensors and actuators that are placed on the hip implant. Once activated by the physician, through a computer connected to a Bluetooth device, the elements that make up the Smart Hip transmit information that will address the potential complications after surgery. The capsules release the drug locally, the sensors detect possible problems with the implant and actuators stimulate bone growth.
