Artificial joints are the subject of a four million pounds project led by Leeds University

Artificial joints that offer fewer side effects, last longer and are better suited for younger patients are the subject of a four million pounds project led by Leeds University.

The collaboration will concentrate on enhanced testing and design to decrease implant failures, faults or cause orthopaedic complications and will be funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme.

Depending on the type of device, failure rates within a decade of an artificial joint being provided range from a few per cent to more than thirty per cent.

Professor Richard Hall from the School of Mechanical Engineering, Leeds, Principal Investigator, stated: “Total hip and knee replacement is now an established technique that has been hugely successful. Implant technology can improve lives. But over the last twenty years, there have been high-profile problems with some implants failing or causing complications which require patients to have repeat surgery. In addition, surgeons are fitting new hips and knees to patients who are younger, heavier and more active. That means the devices are under even greater stress. They also want to fit artificial joints in ankles and fingers and they have higher failure rates. To overcome these challenges, manufacturers need more accurate testing and better design. We are working with industrial, clinical and academic partners to make that happen, to produce artificial joints that are fit for purpose.”