Publications by authors named "Valentina Ngai"

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of two in-vivo-determined gait patterns, one with low and one with high anteroposterior (AP) motion, on total and backside polyethylene insert wear in comparison with the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standard 14243-3. In order to differentiate and accurately quantify topside and backside wear, a novel technique was employed where different lanthanide tracers were incorporated into the polyethylene during manufacture. Wear particle analysis was conducted following established protocols.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Several factors, including compressive load and knee kinematics, have been shown to influence wear. External knee moments (a surrogate for load) have recently been correlated with the medial and lateral wear scar areas of an unconstrained, PCL retaining knee design. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether differences in kinetics during level walking are accompanied by specific differences in relative knee kinematics.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Preclinical endurance testing of total knee replacements (TKRs) is performed using International Organization for Standardization (ISO) load and motion protocols. The standards are based on data from normal subjects and may not sufficiently mimic in vivo implant conditions. In this study, a mathematical model was used to calculate the axial force profile of 30 TKR patients with two current implant types, 22 with NexGen and eight with Miller-Galante II Cruciate-Retaining TKRs, and statistically compare the axial force specified by the ISO standard to the TKR patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Differences between wear-scar features of simulator-tested and retrieved tibial total knee replacement (TKR) liners have been reported. This disagreement may result from differences between in vivo kinematic profiles and those defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The purpose of this study was to determine the knee kinematics of a TKR subject group during level walking and compare them with the motion profiles defined by the ISO standard for a displacement-controlled knee wear testing simulator.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: The majority of studies investigating protein deposition on contact lens materials require that the deposit of interest be removed, potentially resulting in erroneous results if some proteins are not removed adequately. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of in situ imaging methods to examine protein deposition on conventional poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (polyHEMA)-based and silicone hydrogel contact lens materials.

Methods: Six silicone hydrogel and five polyHEMA-based hydrogel contact lens materials were examined by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and/or Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques, after being deposited with proteins in an in vitro model.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF