Intelligent Orthopaedic Materials

In the use of implants in orthopaedic surgery, the critical reactions occur at the inter face between the implant and the bone. The physical discontinuity between the implant and the bone results from the nature of the biomaterial and affects the mechanism of stress transfer. If the material is designed to minimise this discontinuity, there is the possibility to introduce control or adaptive processes and thus to develop the use of intelligent materials. This article examines this in terms of fracture fixation. Biomaterials, which sense and respond to strain gradients, can be used to affect the healing process.