Influence of hip joint simulator design and mechanics on the wear and creep of metal-on-polyethylene bearings

This study confirmed the influence of hip simulator design and loading conditions on the wear of polyethylene, and therefore direct comparisons of absolute wear rates between different hip joint simulators should be avoided. This study also confirmed that the resulting wear path was the governing factor in obtaining clinically relevant wear rates, and this can be achieved with either two axes or three axes of rotations. However, three axes of rotation (with the inclusion of adduction/abduction) more closely replicate clinical conditions and should therefore be the design approach for newly developed hip joint simulators used for preclinical testing.
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Tags: Special Issue Articles Source Type: research