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Tribology for Scientists and Engineers pp 657–674Cite as

Wear of Biomedical Implants

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Abstract

Total joint arthroplasty (TJA) is one of the major successes of the twentieth century changing the lives of millions of people, both younger and older generations. However, critical problems like wear, loosening, and osteolysis still remain in the process of realizing its capabilities to the fullest extent. The change in the lifestyle of the people has further aggravated the seriousness of the problem. Thus, the present chapter is focused on the “Wear of biomedical implants,” which introduces the various possibilities, causes and concerns, critical issues and solutions to the above-said problems enabling a neophyte to understand the current scenario. It briefly discusses the basic tribological aspects involved in a typical synovial joint, its structure, and wear mechanism involved. The discussion then turns towards highlighting the primary causes and concerns of wear debris, various tools and techniques to estimate the wear in specific relevance to artificial joint materials. It also highlights the various implant materials and techniques for reduction of wear in the implants.

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Acknowledgements

The authors duly acknowledge the researchers and working scientists whose contributions are referred herein.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Science and Technology, Bherampur, 761008, Orrisa, India

    P. S. Rama Sreekanth

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, North Guwahati, 781 039, Assam, India

    P. S. Rama Sreekanth & S. Kanagaraj

Authors
  1. P. S. Rama Sreekanth
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  2. S. Kanagaraj
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

    Pradeep L. Menezes

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

    Michael Nosonovsky

  3. Department of Marine Engineering, Texas A&M University, Galveston, Texas, USA

    Sudeep P. Ingole

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India

    Satish V. Kailas

  5. Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

    Michael R. Lovell

Check Your Understanding

Check Your Understanding

  1. 1.

    Define the terms: Tribology and wear

  2. 2.

    Explain the necessity to study Tribology of human joints. Discuss some facts and figures supporting your arguments.

  3. 3.

    Elucidate how load, speed, temperature, hardness, surface finish, and the presence of foreign materials influence the wear of human joints.

  4. 4.

    What is a synovial joint?

  5. 5.

    Discuss the mechanism of load bearing joints.

  6. 6.

    What are the components in a hip prosthesis?

  7. 7.

    Discuss the primary causes leading to the revision of total hip replacement surgeries.

  8. 8.

    Briefly discuss the different material combinations used for the total hip replacement. Compare among them.

  9. 9.

    What are the primary wear mechanisms associated with elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication systems such as human joints?

  10. 10.

    How does the wear debris generated from the artificial joint materials influence the recipient? Explain clearly the concerns associated with metallic implants in relevance to this discussion.

  11. 11.

    What are the main processes involved in the wear of UHMWPE implants?

  12. 12.

    What are different types of wear modes associated with hip joints?

  13. 13.

    How is wear of the implant measured in hospitals and laboratories?

  14. 14.

    Briefly discuss the advantages and limitations associated with various techniques employed to estimate wear of the implants.

  15. 15.

    What are the specific advantages that UHMWPE possesses over its counterpart materials like ceramics and metals for THR applications?

  16. 16.

    What are the various types of wear testing equipments used to evaluate the candidacy of a newly developed material for joint replacements?

  17. 17.

    What are the specific advantages that hip simulators possess over the conventional wear testing equipment?

  18. 18.

    What are the techniques employed to reduce the wear rate of UHMWPE?

  19. 19.

    Explain the mechanism of enhancement of wear resistance of UHMWPE by irradiation process.

  20. 20.

    What is the significant effect of oxidation of UHMWPE due to irradiation? How it could be avoided?

  21. 21.

    What is the mechanism of prevention of oxidation in a medical grade UHMWPE?

  22. 22.

    What are the different methods followed to introduce antioxidant in polymers? Compare among them.

  23. 23.

    How does addition of vitamin E in UHMWPE help to reduce the oxidation problem caused due to irradiation process?

  24. 24.

    What are the primary parameters to be considered before any material considered for successful in vivo application?

  25. 25.

    What are the advantages of using composites for total hip replacement applications?

  26. 26.

    What is ion implantation technique?

  27. 27.

    What are the advantages of ion implantation technique in comparison with other techniques followed to improve the properties of implant materials?

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Sreekanth, P.S.R., Kanagaraj, S. (2013). Wear of Biomedical Implants. In: Menezes, P., Nosonovsky, M., Ingole, S., Kailas, S., Lovell, M. (eds) Tribology for Scientists and Engineers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1945-7_20

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