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Two Years In - Oliver Vickers

Written by Oliver Vickers

Category
Blog - Innovation in Medical Engineering
Date

My PhD project is on sensing in total hip replacements in particular, sensors that would enable condition monitoring of the implant’s performance and early indication of the need for revision surgery.

Over the past 6 months I have been conducting a literature review on previous work in the field of instrumented hip replacements. My aim is to publish a paper reviewing past attempts at integrating sensors within a total hip replacement. I will also be including sections on the challenges of developing an instrumented implant including biocompatibility, power supply and wireless data transfer.

Although at present I am still working from home the practical aspect of my project has continued to progress as I have been able to access electrical components and collect 3D printed components from the University’s workshop. The early prototypes that I’ve been able to develop are giving some promising results after initial tests however, I am looking forward to my return to the lab as I will be able to fully verify the performance of my early prototypes and continue the development of my sensing system.