Public Lecture: The Engineering of Human Joint Replacement - Visiting Professor Thomas Joyce

Replacement of diseased joints with artificial joints has been one of the major successes of modern medicine.  Huge issues have been overcome, not least the engineering challenges of designing and manufacturing components that will ideally last a lifetime without the need for maintenance or repair.  Today, hip and knee replacement are common procedures, allowing millions of people to return to pain-free motion, alongside opportunities to continue to work and enjoy life.  As well as artificial hips and knees, engineers have designed replacement joints for almost all of those in the body, including the shoulder, elbow, wrist, thumb, fingers, ankle, toes and spine.  Each joint provides unique challenges, and not all of these have been overcome.  When contemporary artificial joint failures occur, they can attract substantial media attention.  In such cases, the tension between offering the latest joint replacements and medical device regulations intended to keep patients safe, is often tested.  Based on his 2024 book, Joint Replacement in the Human Body, Professor Joyce will guide you through the marvellous world of the many and varied engineering designs that have been applied to the various joints of the human body.  As well as the massive successes that have been enjoyed, current challenges and contemporary failures will be described.

Short Biography - Visiting Professor Thomas Joyce

After a first degree in Mechanical Engineering, followed by a Masters degree in Tribology (the science of friction, lubrication and wear), Tom worked in industry before winning a Fellowship which allowed him to undertake a PhD in Bioengineering.  The PhD concerned the design, development and testing of an artificial finger joint.  This was followed by several post-doctoral positions and then a lectureship in Biomedical Engineering in Ireland.  Returning to the UK, Tom became a lecturer in Bioengineering at Newcastle University.  Following groundbreaking work with clinical colleagues to explain failures in metal-on-metal hips, Tom gave verbal evidence to the Science and Technology Committee of the House of Commons, and the research was featured in media across the world.  Metal-on-metal total hip replacements are on longer on the market.  Becoming Professor of Orthopaedic Engineering in 2012, his pioneering work on failures in artificial joints continued with issues on magnetic growing rods for children with scoliosis being featured in national and international media.  In turn this research led to increased engagement with the UK medical devices regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).  In 2020 the MHRA introduced what was to become an almost 4-year moratorium on implantation of the magnetic rods, which is unprecedented in UK medical device regulation.  Tom has always been passionate about his teaching and was the first person in his Faculty at Newcastle University to win a National Teaching Fellowship (NTF).  This passion also led to his 2024 book, Joint Replacement in the Human Body, published by Elsevier.  ‘Retiring’ from Newcastle University in late 2024, Tom continues to be research active as well as continuing to contribute to the MHRA to help ensure the safety of medical devices, particularly those concerned with orthopaedics.

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