Modeling how artificial hips hold up over time could make life better for people with replacement joints, researchers report. Their new computational study simulates and tracks how hips evolve, uniquely incorporating fluid dynamics and roughness of the joint surfaces, as well as factors clinicians typically use to predict how well implants will stand up over their expected 15-year lifetime. The researchers’ immediate goal is to advance the design of more robust prostheses. Ultimately, they say the model could help clinicians personalize hip joints for patients depending on gender, weight, age, and gait variations. “Fifteen years sounds like a long time but if you need to put an artificial hip into someone who’s young and active, you want it to last longer so they don’t have multiple surgeries.”