In vitro assessment of proximal polyethylene contact surface areas and stresses in mobile bearing knees

Wear of the polyethylene (PE) insert in total knee arthroplasty remains a significant problem. The generation of biologically active wear particles may ultimately affect implant longevity through osteolysis or premature/catastrophic PE failure. The rate and pattern of wear is influenced by many fact...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical engineering & physics 2003-07, Vol.25 (6), p.437-443
Main Authors: Chapman-Sheath, P.J, Bruce, W.J.M, Chung, W.K, Morberg, P, Gillies, R.M, Walsh, W.R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Wear of the polyethylene (PE) insert in total knee arthroplasty remains a significant problem. The generation of biologically active wear particles may ultimately affect implant longevity through osteolysis or premature/catastrophic PE failure. The rate and pattern of wear is influenced by many factors, including component geometry and individual loading conditions, which determine the contact surface area and kinematics of the reconstructed knee. Contact areas and stresses at the proximal femoral–PE insert interface and distal PE–tibial interface contact surface areas were measured in nine mobile bearing total knee designs at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 110° of flexion at 3600 N (5×body weight) using a standardized test method. Proximal and, to a lesser degree, distal interface contact area footprints decreased significantly with increasing flexion angle based on the conformity of the designs, resulting in a corresponding increase in the mean and peak stresses.
ISSN:1350-4533
1873-4030
DOI:10.1016/S1350-4533(03)00016-X