The course will cover the mechanical properties of natural tissues and their replacement with metals, polymers, ceramics and composites. The response of the body to an implanted biomaterial and the response of a biomaterial to implantation will be considered.

2 hours of lectures per week, plus 2 laboratories and 2 tutorials during the semester.

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The students will perform two laboratory experiments and these will be marked out of 10. The examination (90 minutes) will contribute 80 marks.

The aims of this course are to:

■ introduce students to biomaterials, both the properties of natural materials and the behaviour of artificial materials when implanted on or in contact with the human body;

■ introduce students to the reaction of materials to implantation in the body;

■ introduce students to the reaction of the body to the presence of implanted materials;

■ introduce students to the uses of polymers, ceramics, metals and composites as biomaterials;

■ introduce students to the concepts of biocompatibility and bioacitve methods of assessing these;

■ introduce students to some basic applications of biomaterials in the body and the resultant interactions.

■ introduce ethical considerations arising from the use of the techniques described in the course.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ compare the response of the body to the presence of toxic, inert or bioactive materials;

■ compare the response of different classes of materials to implantation;

■ choose methods of assessing the mechanical and biological properties of natural and artificial biomaterials;

■ select biomaterials for specific medical devices;

■ demonstrate an awareness of ethical considerations associated to the development and use of biomedical devices.

Students must attend the degree examination and submit at least 75% by weight of the other components of the course's summative assessment.

Students must attend the timetabled laboratory classes.

Note that these are minimum requirements: good students will achieve far higher participation/submission rates.  Any student who misses an assessment or a significant number of classes because of illness or other good cause should report this by completing a MyCampus absence report.