Implant Technology Unit 2 Flashcards
what does hip joint arthroplasty involve
replacement of the damaged bearing surface of the femoral head and the acetabulum in order to give the patient a new joint which permits pain free motion and a stable hip
what is the basis of hip joint replacements
femoral head is anchored to the femur by a metal stem inserted into the medullary cavity of the femur
the new acetabular cup is made to fit into the existing socket, after reaming
the femoral and acetabular components are held in place either using bone cement of by direct ‘cementless’ contact between the prosthesis and the bone
how does ‘cementless’ contact work
by cutting a reciprocal shape in the bone into which the prosthesis is hammered or occasionally screwed
what does a “press fit” rely on
close surface contact between the stem and the bone - there are no screws or other devices for fixation
obtained when an object of a particular shape is pushed into another object of the same shape but slightly smaller.
what is meant by a total arthroplasty
both bearing surfaces were replaced
Charnley hip replacement is the “gold standard” what did he designed
- smaller femoral head to reduce problems of loosening associated with bearing friction
- introduced bone cement [made from PMMA] between bone and prosthesis to help distribute loads between bone and prosthesis
- introduced high density polyethylene (HDP) as a bearing material, which in combo w/ metal femoral head and lubrication by the body fluids, results in low friction bearing
- produced a system of instrumentation to match his prothesis
why cannot the whole prosthesis be made of ceramic
Bearing surfaces may be made from ceramic (have highly favourable frictional and wear properties)
but are brittle and subject to sudden failure.
what problems does using metal cause
remain very stiff relative to bone and give rise to stress shielding
metals are less brittle however
what is one way to provide a less stiff metal prosthesis
use composite plastic materials, i.e. carbon fibre reinforced polymers
what is the Bombelli hip made of
made of a metal core which gives it strength and a carbon fibre reinforced outer layer
what problems does lowering the stiffness of the stem bring
creates high shear stresses as the load is transferred from stem to the femur
why is getting new licensed bone cement into commercial use difficult
classified as a drug
therefore, huge cost to get onto market
what are the most commonly used implant materials
Cobalt chrome alloy
Stainless steel
Titanium and titanium alloys
High density polyethylene (HDP) Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement.
what is the general criteria for hip joint replacement prothesis
- should be tolerated within the human body w/ no short term and little long term risk of adverse toxic effects
- should give pain relief and restore the activities of daily living to the patient
- should last a reasonable length of time, which ideally should exceed the expected life span of the individual patient w/out the need for revision
- should be able to be inserted by an average surgeon with a predictable outcome guaranteed
- should be cost effective
what is the most effective way of relieving pain and restoring function for OA in the hip
hip arthroplasty
what ROM is needed at the hip for daily activities
[stand, walk, sit down]
extend slightly
flex to min of 30 degrees
abduct when weight bearing
rotate when in full extension
what period of time is a hip replacement expected to work for in 90% of cases
10 years
what is an advantage of cemented total hip arthroplasty
only an approx reciprocal shape of the medullary cavity has to be achieved as remaining space is taken up by PMMA which acts as a grout or filler between bone and prosthesis
what biomechanical factors must be kept in mind when designed ortho implants
load support mechanisms in relation to stress shielding of bone and bone-implant fixation techniques biocompatibility
what are the main forces acting on a normal hip structure
external loads
muscle forces acting at the hip joint
[knowing forces acting on a normal hip means we know how much forces an implant needs to withstand]
what are the 2 ways of estimating the stresses at the hip joint
1 - fixing strain gauges at important locations on the bone, which is the loaded
[time consuming and requires many stresses gauges]
2 - finite element analysis (FEA)
[allows stresses to be determined with relative ease for different prostheses under different loading]
what is important to remember about joint loading
1 - joint loading varies according to the physical activity being undertaken
2 - the magnitude of muscle forces for different activities cannot be determined accurately
why do the joint forces acting at a joint vary in magnitude and direction according to activity undertaken
direction can vary considerably because hip joint has such a wide range of movement
how many muscle and ligaments act across the hip joint
7 groups of muscles and ligaments
different combinations of these active at any one time to balance the external forces and moments acting at the joint so equilibrium can be maintained
why is it not possible to calculate the muscle forces if more than one muscle is active and what is the structure therefore called
as there would be more unknown forces than equations to solve them
- called indeterminate
what does indeterminate mean
means that the forces acting on the femur and the pelvis, and across the joint cannot be calculated precisely and must be approximated
what activity is commonly used when analysing stresses in hip prostheses
standing on one leg, either stationary or during part of the walking cycle
why is standing on one leg used to analyse stress in prostheses
- can estimate muscle forces with some degree of confidence as some muscles are not active at all, leaving mainly the abductor muscle forces to calculate
- also believed to generate high bending stresses in the femur and femoral components of the prosthesis
why is it difficult to determine accurately the stresses in the components of a replacement hip
- Because bone is an anisotropic material and its exact mechanical properties are difficult to determine.
- Because it is difficult to know the true forces acting on the prosthesis due to lack of knowledge about which muscles are active during a particular activity.
what activity generates the largest and smallest joint reaction force - highest to lowest
Ascending stairs
Walking
Descending stairs
Rising from a chair
in what plane in the hip does most movement occur
coronal plane
the hip joint force, J, has what other component
Fc - causes a compressive force in the femur giving rise to a compressive stress
how can compressive stress be calculated
= Fc / A
compressive stress
= compressive force / area
what also affects the compressive stresses
the pull of the muscles at the trochanter and the head and neck of the femur
how is the compressive joint force transferred in a prosthesis
transferred from the stem to the femur as a shear force
passes directly from the stem to the bone in a cementless prosthesis
or via the cement layer in a cemented prosthesis causing shear stresses in the cement
what will happen if the stem bone bond or stem-cement-bone bond is not sufficiently strong
the prosthesis will loosen and sink down the medullary cavity
how can the compressive stress in the stem be found
by dividing the compressive load taken by the stem at any section along its length by the area of the cross section
[compressive load taken by the stem also varies along its length]
what are design ways to prevent the stem from sinking distally in the medullary canal
- tapering the stem
- using a collar at the proximal end of the stem
- fixing the bone to the stem, by means of bone ingrowth or adhesion
- using a cement strong enough to withstand shear stresses
what are design ways to reduce interface shear stress by converting shear loads to compressive loads
- using a support, such as a proximal collar on the stem
- tapering the stem
what are design ways to avoid fracture of the stem
- by selecting a stem w/ a sufficiently large cross section to resist the stresses
- by selecting a high strength material for the stem
what is one of the most important design considerations
- the avoidance of excessive stress shielding of the bone by careful selection of the rigidity of the stem under axial loading
what forces does a joint force acting on a normal hip produce
compressive stress
bending stress
what is the equation for calculating bending stress
[applied bending moment x distance from neutral axis] / second moment of area
My/I
what is the assumption made when calculating the joint force at the hip
assumption that the only active muscle was the abductor group joining the greater trochanter to the pelvic
[the force required by this muscle group was found to be about twice body weight]
what does the bending moment produce on the femur
tension on the lateral side
compression on the medial side
what is the effect of bending stresses on inserting a femoral stem
reduce the stresses in the proximal end of the femur because the stem takes some of the bending load from the bone
what is required in order to keep the stem in static equilibrium
the applied load due to the joint force must be balanced by reaction forces due to contact between the stem and the femur
[the proximal area of the medial side of the femur provides one contact point and the lateral distal side provides another]
what do these contact points prevent
counteracts the tendency for the stem to rotate due to the bending action of the joint force
what is the maximum bending moment, M, equal too
equal to the applied joint force, J, multiplied by its moment arm, d.
when does maximum bending moment reach 0
as the distal end of the stem
[bending stress varies along the length of the stem]
why are modern stems much stronger than older stems
stems are forged rather than cast
what is the main likelihood of stem failure
if it loosens proximally
[bending moment at the distal end would increase drastically and cause failure]
what is important to note about the value of the second moment of area [I]
the value of I for the stem at any point along the stem is smaller that that of the adjacent bone , so it is more highly stressed
because cross sectional dimensions are smaller
what does the magnitude of the bending moment, and hence the bending stress, depend on
the magnitude and direction of the joint force and the abductor muscle force
this depends on the type of activity being undertaken and the angular position of the thigh relative to the pelvis
how is stress shielding at the proximal end of the femur prevented
a substantial proportion of the load is transferred from the bone to the stem proximally
therefore, stem takes less load distally = less stressed
what is loading sharing and stress shielding dependent on
the rigidity of the implant relative to that of the bone
what are ways to ensure that the stem does not fail under a bending load
- by designing it w/ a large enough second moment of area
- by designing its shape to limit the magnitude of the bending moment due to the joint force
what are ways to avoid the stem loosening
- providing sufficiently strong bond between the bone and the stem or cement
- providing a good press fit of the stem in the medullary canal
what are ways to minimise stress shielding of the bone under bending loads
- by selecting a suitable rigidity for the stem
why does the presence of a femoral stem affect the magnitude of the bending stresses in the femur
The stresses are lower because the stem takes some of the load, which means that the bone is less stressed.
what other stresses are generated under the action of a bending load
- radial stresses
- circumferential (hoop) stresses
[radial stresses are directed radially outwards from a central point]
where are radial stresses greatest
at the points of bone-stem contact at the proximal and distal ends
what do radial stresses cause
cause hoop stresses in the bone
[tensile stresses that act in a direction that tends to split the bone]
[found around the circumference]
what will happen if the stem has a loose fit in the bone
will give rise to very high local stresses causing hoop stresses that are high enough to fracture the bone