• Question: Can prosthetic limbs be made from aluminium? (Grace aged 8)

    Asked by 872newp27 to Triona, Simone, Kieran, Julia, Hugh, Emily on 5 Nov 2018. This question was also asked by Gracie, Seán Kelly.
    • Photo: Kieran

      Kieran answered on 5 Nov 2018:

      Prosthetics can’t be made from aluminium because the body’s white blood cells recognise the aluminium as a foreign object and attack it causing inflammation. Instead, Titanium is used as the body does not normally react to it. This is because aluminium and titanium have different chemical properties.

      Nowadays, scientists are trying to make prosthetics from collagen. Collagen is a protein that is in your skin and joints. This way your body will recognise the prosthetic as a part of the body and protect it instead of attacking it.

    • Photo: Triona

      Triona answered on 6 Nov 2018:

      Pure aluminum is soft and not very wear resistant – it wears away easily – so on it’s own, its not a good choice for prosthetic limbs. Mixed with other metals, it can work.
      When you say prosthetics, do you mean the ones that are implanted inside in the human body? I work for a company that does that type. We use a number of different metals, some stainless steel, cobalt chrome and also a really great titanium that is an alloy – an alloy is a mix of a number of metals-. The titanium alloy we use most, because it works so well, does have a small amount of aluminium but it is mostly titanium.

    • Photo: Emily

      Emily answered on 6 Nov 2018:

      Hi Gracie,

      Aluminium is a very light material that can withstand some forces but not as much as heavier materials such as stainless steel or titanium. The lightness makes it really nice as a non-mobile connector material, or in other words, a piece that transfers weight and isn’t allowed to bend. If you make a prosthetic arm out of solid steel it will be much heavier and harder to use, so it’s better sometimes to put some aluminum parts in there to make it easier to move the prosthetic!

      Thanks for asking,
      Emily

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