Engineering Bones
The human skeletonCopyright NASA http://virtualastronaut.tietronix.com/textonly/act15/text-skeletonpuz.html
Students extend their knowledge of the skeletal system to biomedical engineering design, specifically the concept of artificial limbs and joints. Students relate the skeleton as a structural system, focusing on the leg as structural necessity. They learn about the design considerations involved in the creation of artificial limbs, including materials and sensors.
Biomedical engineering is the application of engineering techniques to the understanding of biological systems and the development of therapeutic technologies and devices. One type of biomedical engineering is the field of prostheses, or artificial body parts. Since leg bones are important to our body structure, biomedical engineers design prosthetic legs to handle the stresses of a moving body. To design better prostheses, they consider and experiment with various materials. Kidney dialysis, pacemakers, hearing aids and synthetic skin are other products of biomedical engineering.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Explain how engineers are involved with design related to the human skeletal system.
- Identify some of the necessary features of a prosthetic limb.
- Describe several design criteria that go into choosing the material for a prosthetic limb.