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Carbon/PEEK composite materials as an alternative for stainless steel/titanium hip prosthesis: a finite element study

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Abstract

Total hip replacement (THR) has been ranked within the most typical surgical processes in the world. The durability of the prosthesis and loosening of prosthesis are the main concerns that mostly reported after THR surgeries. In THR, the femoral prosthesis can be fixed by either cement or cementless methods in the patient’s bones. In both procedures, the stability of the prosthesis in the hosted bone has a key asset in its long-term durability and performance. This study aimed to execute a comparative finite element simulation to assess the load transfer between the prosthesis, which is made of carbon/PEEK composite and stainless steel/titanium, and the femur bone. The mechanical behavior of the cortical bone was assumed as a linear transverse isotropic while the spongy bone was modeled like a linear isotropic material. The implants were made of stainless steel (316L) and titanium alloy as they are common materials for implants. The results showed that the carbon/PEEK composites provide a flatter load transfer from the upper body to the leg compared to the stainless steel/titanium prosthesis. Furthermore, the results showed that the von Mises stress, principal stress, and the strain in the carbon/PEEK composites prosthesis were significantly lower than that made of the stainless steel/titanium. The results also imply that the carbon/PEEK composites can be applied to introduce a new optimum design for femoral prosthesis with adjustable stiffness, which can decrease the stress shielding and interface stress. These findings will help clinicians and biomedical experts to increase their knowledge about the hip replacement.

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Acknowledgments

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran

    Farshid Rezaei & Nosratollah Solhjoei

  2. Department of Biomechanics, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

    Kamran Hassani

  3. Tissue Engineering and Biological Systems Research Laboratory, School of Mechanical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

    Alireza Karimi

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan

    Alireza Karimi

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  1. Farshid Rezaei
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  2. Kamran Hassani
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Correspondence to Kamran Hassani.

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Rezaei, F., Hassani, K., Solhjoei, N. et al. Carbon/PEEK composite materials as an alternative for stainless steel/titanium hip prosthesis: a finite element study. Australas Phys Eng Sci Med 38, 569–580 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13246-015-0380-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13246-015-0380-3

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