PRODUCTION OF MEDICAL GRADE ALUMINA

Today, the production of implants from aluminium oxide ceramic, as spe cified by ISO 6474 (medical grade alumina), and particularly of femora l ball heads for modular hip joint prostheses is a daily occurrence. W orldwide, femoral ball heads of this kind have been implanted successf ully more than 2 million times, mainly in Europe. With respect to this product family, reliability and quality must be assigned the highest priority for the sake of the patient and can only be guaranteed by usi ng special processes, such as preparation tinder clean room conditions , strict production and quality controls (100%), and quality assurance as specified by good manufacturing practice and ISO 9001. The product ion processes for alumina femoral bull heads ale outlined.