Methods

Five Sawbones composite pelves with cemented UHMWPE cups were tested. Each pelvis was instrumented with triaxial strain gauges at four locations of predicted high strain. Each sample (n = 5) was bolted at the sacroiliac joint in a uniaxial testing machine. A load of 500 N was applied in the direction of the peak force during normal walking, for five repetitions. The directional surface strains were used to evaluate the equivalent strain. Specimen specific finite element models were developed based on CT scan data using ScanIP. Each mesh consisted of an average of 2.5 million linear tetrahedral elements and was solved in ANSYS.

Methods

Three most common diameters of acetabula were tested (50, 54 and 58 mm) to compare three types of KHs: A) 3 × 12 mm diameter, 120° apart, 6 mm deep blind holes; B) 6 × 6 mm diameter, 60° apart, 6 mm deep blind holes; C) 6 × 6 mm diameter, 60° apart, through holes.

An anatomically accurate experimental rig to simulate the implanted acetabulum was used, it allowed the torque strength of a cement mantle to be measured. The cups were cemented into the rig to create a 4 mm mantle and left to cure for 24 h at room temperature. Each sample was tested in the torque rig by applying a ramp displacement at 1.5 °/min until failure. The test was repeated four times for each acetabulum-keyhole combination. Peak torque was used for quantifying torsional resistance.