Dp. Mukherjee et S. Saha, THE APPLICATION OF NEW COMPOSITE-MATERIALS FOR TOTAL JOINT ARTHROPLASTY, Journal of long-term effects of medical implants, 3(2), 1993, pp. 131-141
Citations number
38
Categorie Soggetti
Medicine, Research & Experimental",Pathology,"Engineering, Biomedical",Orthopedics
The material and design issues for the composite hip stem development
are examined. The development of the ''isoelastic'' hip is based on th
e hypothesis that the matching of the material modulus to that of cort
ical bone will result in an optimal stress transfer to the bone, resul
ting in a minimal bone loss. The biomechanical data showed no statisti
cal difference in strain transfer in the bone before or after implanta
tion of low modulus stems. The clinical reports of a number of earlier
''isoelastic'' devices showed evidence of loosening and lack of stabi
lity. The current interest has been in the development of femoral comp
onents made from carbon fiber reinforced polyaryletherketone, polysulf
one, and carbon/carbon composites. As these materials are optimized, i
t is important to look into matching the rigidity of bone. Moreover, t
he unsupported neck area needs to be as strong as metal, like Ti6-Al4-
V, to prevent failure, whereas the femoral component inside the bone n
eeds to have lower rigidity. Therefore, monolithic composite material
from neck area to the distal stem will not withstand the loading needs
and a material optimization scheme is required to come up with a long
-lasting composite device. Lastly, the price vs. patient benefits for
these composite material stems need to be established.