This research reviews common implant materials and suggests smart materials that may be used as substitutes. Current prosthetic technology, including artificial limbs, joints, and soft and hard tissue, falls short in comprehensive characterization of the chemo-mechanics and materials relationships of the natural tissues and their prosthetic materials counterparts. Many of these unknown chemo-mechanical properties in natural tissue systems maintain cooperative function that allows for optimum efficiency in performance and healing. Traditional prosthetic devices have not taken into account the naturally occurring electro-chemo-mechanical stress- strain relationships that normally exist in a tissue system. Direct mechanical deformation of tissue and cell membrane as a possible use of smart materials may lead to improved prosthetic devices once the mechanosensory systems in living tissues are identified and understood. Smart materials may aid in avoiding interfacial atrophy which is a common cause of prosthetic failure. Finally, we note that advanced composite materials have not received sufficient attention, they should be more widely used in prosthetics. Their structural efficiency allows design and construction of truly efficient bionic devices.
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