Hip Science: Better Bone Implants

ke4roh writes "Space, medicine, and invention often cross paths. In this case, the invention is a new artificial hip. Scientists are researching ways to manufacture strong and porous ceramics with the benefit of microgravity - subtracting the effects of convection and settling from their experiment. In the end, they hope to offer a permanent artificial hip - much more user-friendly than today's models that come unglued and require replacement after only 5-10 years of use. It's just one more way space research helps to make life better on Earth."

Comments

Re:Yes But

[GigsVT]

Also, if they do find a way to make these things in microgravity, how are they going to ever mass produce them on earth? It's not like you can just build a gravity free chamber. Unless they plan on letting them harden in free fall from a plane :)

Cost?

[cachorro]

Clearly the cost of producing a ceramic hip in space would be prohibitive (ballpark: ~$1 million). Then what technology could possibly produce such a micro-gravity environment at sufficient scale on earth to effect manufacture cost-effectively? I suspect it's not as easy as floating a frog.