prosthetics
In medicine, prosthetics is the development of artificial replacements for lost body parts or damaged or missing organs. Artificial replacements fulfill both form-giving and functional requirements that are eliminated by the missing body part. The goal of prosthetics is to enable affected persons to live as unrestricted a life as possible. Furthermore, the complexity and technologically advanced functionality of modern prosthetics is based on the integration of microprocessors, sensors and actuators, and AI systems. This provides patients with a high degree of precision, as well as routine and controlled movement. However, handling the artificial replacement limb requires stamina and a lot of training.
A distinction is made between exoprostheses and endoprostheses. Exoprostheses are prostheses that are located outside the body. These include, for example, arm or leg prostheses. Endoprostheses, on the other hand, can be classified as closed implants and are permanently inserted into the body to replace specific joint, bone or vascular structures.
Closely related to prosthetics are epitheses and orthotics, which, however, have only a supporting or optical effect.