Adjustable length artificial hip

Hip prostheses can result in a leg that is a little too long or a little too short.  To correct this, engineers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology (Chemnitz, Germany) have created an adjustable artificial hip.  “[The technique] begins with the surgeon temporarily attaching a plastic box to the patient’s shin as they’re lying on their back on the operating table, prior to surgery. The surgeon then lifts their leg up by the heel, rotating the leg upward. As they do so, a 3D camera tracks its arc relative to the hip, by following optical markers on the box. This provides a linked computer with rotational measurements of the leg, which indicate how far the shin moves from the hip throughout the leg’s range of motion.”  A screw in the prosthetic allows the length to be corrected so the patient doesn’t suffer posture difficulties.       MORE

Image Credit:  Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology