Development of Novel Antibacterial Ti-Nb-Ga Alloys with Low Stiffness for Medical Implant Applications.

With the rising demand for medical implants and the dominance of implant-associated failures including infections, extensive research has been prompted into the development of novel biomaterials that can offer desirable characteristics. This study develops and evaluates new titanium-based alloys containing gallium additions with the aim of offering beneficial antibacterial properties while having a reduced stiffness level to minimise the effect of stress shielding when in contact with bone. The focus is on the microstructure, mechanical properties, antimicrobial activity, and cytocompatibility to inform the suitability of the designed alloys as biometals.

Corroboration of coupled musculoskeletal model and finite element predictions with in vivo RSA migration of an uncemented acetabular component.

While finite element (FE) models have been used extensively in orthopedic studies, validation of their outcome metrics has been limited to comparison against ex vivo testing. The aim of this study was to validate FE model predictions of the initial cup mechanical environment against patient-matched in vivo measurements of acetabular cup migration using radiostereometric analysis (RSA). Tailored musculoskeletal and FE models were developed using a combination of three-dimensional (3D) motion capture data and clinical computerized tomography (CT) scans for a cohort of eight individuals who underwent primary total hip replacement and were prospectively enrolled in an RSA study.

The role of muscle forces and gait cycle discretization when assessing acetabular cup primary stability: A finite element study.

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the muscle force contribution and loading cycle discretization on the predicted micromotion and interfacial bone strains in the implanted acetabulum. To this end, a patient specific finite element model of the hemipelvis was developed, based on the CT-scan and gait analysis results, collected as part of the authors' previous work. Outcomes of this study suggests that the acetabular cup micromotion and interfacial bone strains can be predicted just using the joint contact force.

An Overview of the Stability and Fretting Corrosion of Microgrooved Necks in the Taper Junction of Hip Implants.

Fretting corrosion at the head-neck interface of modular hip implants, scientifically termed trunnionosis/taperosis, may cause regional inflammation, metallosis, and adverse local tissue reactions. The severity of such a deleterious process depends on various design parameters. In this review, the influence of surface topography (in some cases, called microgrooves/ridges) on the overall performance of the microgrooved head-neck junctions is investigated.

The Role of the Assembly Force in the Tribocorrosion Behaviour of Hip Implant Head-Neck Junctions: An Adaptive Finite Element Approach.

The cyclic loading, in the corrosive medium of the human body, results in tribocorrosion at the interface of the head-neck taper junction of hip implants. The resulting metal ions and wear debris adversely affect the local tissues. The force applied by surgeons to assemble the junction has proven to play a major role in the mechanics of the taper junction which, in turn, can influence the tribocorrosion damage.

The mechanics of head-neck taper junctions: What do we know from finite element analysis?

Modular hip implants are widely used in hip arthroplasty because of the advantages they can offer such as flexibility in material combinations and geometrical adjustments. The mechanical environment of the modular junction in the body is quite challenging due to the complex and varying off-axial mechanical loads of physical activities applied to a tapered interface of two contacting materials (head and neck) assembled by an impact force intraoperatively. Experimental analogies to the in-vivo condition of the taper junction are complex, expensive and time-consuming to implement; hence, computational simulations have been a preferred approach taken by researchers for studying the mechanics of these modular junctions that can help us understand their failure mechanisms and improve their design and longevity after implantation.

A review on the finite element simulation of fretting wear and corrosion in the taper junction of hip replacement implants.

Taperosis/trunnionosis is a scientific term for describing tribocorrosion (fretting corrosion) at the head-neck taper junction of hip implants where two contacting surfaces are undergone oscillatory micromotions while being exposed to the body fluid. Detached ions and emitted debris, as a result of taperosis, migrate to the surrounding tissues and can cause inflammation, infection, and aseptic loosening with an ultimate possibility of implant failure. Improving the tribocorrosion performance of the head-neck junction in the light of minimising the surface damage and debris requires a better understanding of taperosis.

A finite element study on the mechanical response of the head-neck interface of hip implants under realistic forces and moments of daily activities: Part 2.

A finite element model was developed to investigate the effect of loading regimes caused by various daily activities on the mechanical behaviour of the head-neck taper junction in modular hip replacements. The activities included stair up, stair down, sit to stand, stand to sit, one leg standing and knee bending. To present the real mechanical environment of the junction, in addition to the force components, the frictional moments produced by the frictional sliding of the head and cup were applied to a CoCr/CoCr junction having a 12/14 taper with a proximal mismatch angle of 0.

A finite element study on the mechanical response of the head-neck interface of hip implants under realistic forces and moments of daily activities: Part 1, level walking.

This paper investigates the mechanical response of a modular head-neck interface of hip joint implants under realistic loads of level walking. The realistic loads of the walking activity consist of three dimensional gait forces and the associated frictional moments. These forces and moments were extracted for a 32mm metal-on-metal bearing couple.

An adaptive finite element simulation of fretting wear damage at the head-neck taper junction of total hip replacement: The role of taper angle mismatch.

An adaptive finite element simulation was developed to predict fretting wear in a head-neck taper junction of hip joint implant through a two dimensional (2D) model and based on the Archard wear equation. This model represents the most critical section of the head-neck junction which was identified from a 3D model of the junction subjected to one cycle of level gait loading. The 2D model was then used to investigate the effect of angular mismatch between the head and neck components on the material loss and fretting wear process over 4 million gait cycles of walking.

An Investigation on the Wear Resistance and Fatigue Behaviour of Ti-6Al-4V Notched Members Coated with Hydroxyapatite Coatings.

In this study, surface properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloy coated with hydroxyapatite coatings were investigated. Wear resistance and fatigue behaviour of samples with coating thicknesses of 10 and 50 µm as well as uncoated samples were examined. Wear experiments demonstrated that the friction factor of the uncoated titanium decreased from 0.

Influence of geometry and materials on the axial and torsional strength of the head-neck taper junction in modular hip replacements: A finite element study.

The assembly force is important in establishing the mechanical environment at the head-neck taper junction of modular hip replacements. Previous experimental results of the assembled taper junctions with different material combinations (Co-28Cr-6Mo and Ti-6Al-4V) reported similar axial strengths (pull-off loads), but lower torsional strengths (twist-off moments) for the CoCr/CoCr junction. However, mechanics of the junction and the strength behaviour have not been understood yet.