Friction between head and cup is a primary factor for survival of total hip joint replacement (THR) and its gliding surfaces. In up to 40% of all revisions, the cup or inlay must be replaced as result of friction-induced wear [1]. Aim of the study was to measure the friction-induced temperature increase in vivo in THR and to identify possible individual parameters of influence. For the in vivo measurement, an instrumented implant with an Al2O3/XPE-pairing and an integrated temperature sensor was used [Fig. 1] [2]. Ten patients were provided with such an instrumented implant. Up to now, long time measurements were performed on six of these patients (Ø63y, Ø89kg). During these measurements, the subjects walked Ø60min on a treadmill with 4km/h. The investigation was performed Ø61 (43–70) months post operatively. Short time (Ø3min) in vivo load measurements during walking on treadmill were already available from the other four patients. These data were used to calculate the peak temperatures after 60mins of walking by using a model, based on the long time measurements.Introduction
Methods
Tibiofemoral alignment is important to determine the rate of
progression of osteoarthritis and implant survival after total knee
arthroplasty (TKA). Normally, surgeons aim for neutral tibiofemoral
alignment following TKA, but this has been questioned in recent
years. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether varus or valgus
alignment indeed leads to increased medial or lateral tibiofemoral
forces during static and dynamic weight-bearing activities. Tibiofemoral contact forces and moments were measured in nine
patients with instrumented knee implants. Medial force ratios were
analysed during nine daily activities, including activities with
single-limb support (e.g. walking) and double-limb support (e.g.
knee bend). Hip-knee-ankle angles in the frontal plane were analysed
using full-leg coronal radiographs. Aims
Patients and Methods