Comparison of surface characteristics of retrieved cobalt-chromium femoral heads with and without ion implantation.

Nitrogen ion implantation of CoCr is reported to produce increased surface hardness and a lower friction surface. Femoral heads with and without ion implantation retrieved from 1997 to 2003 were evaluated for surface roughness (average surface roughness [Ra], mean peak height [Rpm], and maximum distance from peak to valley [Rmax]), nanohardness, and the ion-treated layer thickness. The difference in average Rmax (P = .033) and average Rpm (P = .008) was statistically significant, but there was no correlation between the average or maximum roughness parameters (average surface roughness, Rmax, and Rpm) and time in vivo (P > .05). Overall, nanohardness was greater for the low-friction ion-treated heads (P < .001); and it decreased with increasing time in vivo (P = .01). Ion treatment produces an increased surface hardness, but the advantage of this increased hardness appears to dissipate over time in vivo.

Arthroplasty options for the young patient: Oxinium on cross-linked polyethylene.

Our purpose was to determine whether metal femoral heads scratch with in vivo use, to characterize the scratching that occurs, and to determine whether this scratching affected polyethylene wear. Assessment of 133 consecutive retrieved femoral heads showed that metal femoral heads do scratch with in vivo use, that cobalt-chromium femoral heads are more scratch resistant than titanium alloy heads, and that scratching seems to be time dependent. Profilmetry studies showed that all roughness parameters (average roughness, maximum peak to lowest valley distance, mean peak height above the mean surface line, estimate of small peaks above the main plateau of the surface, and estimate of the depth of the valleys below the mean plateau of the surface with the exception of the symmetry of the profile about its mean line) showed increased roughness with time of use. Cobalt-chromium and Oxinium femoral heads were damaged in a dislocation model. Assessment of these femoral heads in a wear simulator revealed that against conventional polyethylene, a damaged Oxinium femoral head had no more wear than a new cobalt-chromium articulation on the same polyethylene (36.5/million cycles versus 38.4 mm/million). Against cross-linked polyethylene, a damaged Oxinium femoral head had minimal wear (1.5 mm cubed per Mc).

Zirconia femoral head fractures: a clinical and retrieval analysis.

Zirconia femoral heads provide increased fracture strength, but 343 zirconia head failures have been documented since 2000. Retrieval analysis of 6 fractured heads, 4 suspect heads, 4 control zirconia heads, and 2 failed alumina heads was performed. Zirconia failures have been isolated to heads sintered in a "tunnel" furnace introduced in 1998. The monoclinic composition at the taper surface of fractured and nonfractured heads was significantly elevated (21% to 68%) compared to that of control zirconia heads (less than 5%). Electron microscopy identified circular fracture footprints unique to the zirconia heads produced in the tunnel furnace. Cobalt chrome heads were used in the urgent revision setting due to Morse taper damage. Partial capsulectomy was performed in an effort to reduce future third body wear. Monoclinic phase transformation following implantation remains a potential mechanism of ceramic head failure. We recommend that patients with recalled zirconia heads be advised of a potential fracture risk.

3D real time methodology monitoring cement failures in THA.

The present work proposed a methodology to monitor cement microcrack formation in the cemented femoral stem construct using the acoustic emission technique. This technique provides a unique means to automatically tally the number of microcracks, to visualize microcrack distribution, and to animate the progress of crack formation in a given time window of a fatigue test. In this work, the formulation of microcrack source location was derived and a computer program was developed specifically for the proposed application. The program was validated using computer simulation and standard pencil lead break tests. It was found that the mathematical errors complied with the acceptable minimal error. Based on the pencil lead break tests, the average technical error used to estimate the resolution of this technique was 4.7 mm at the present stage. The program was then used to monitor the fatigue damage in precoated cemented femoral hip constructs loaded for a total of more than five million cycles. Two types of microcrack activities were observed in the experiments: Type I and Type II microcracks. A Type I microcrack was a crack that was captured by four or more sensors, and therefore its location was defined uniquely by a set of coordinates. A Type II microcrack was a crack that was captured by three or less sensors, therefore it was unlocatable. Both counts of Type I and Type II microcrack were tallied with respect to the day of fatigue tests. Acoustic emission microcrack graphs were used to visualize the distribution of Type I microcracks in the construct. It was found that the Type I microcracks distributed mainly over the proximal third of the stem. The amount of microcrack events decreased significantly as the number of loading cycles increased.