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Micro-wear patterns on UHMWPE tibial inserts in total knee joint simulation

  • Jiro Tamura
  • , Ian C. Clarke
  • , Keiichi Kawanabe
  • , Masao Akagi
  • , Victoria D. Good
  • , Paul A. Williams
  • , Toshinori Masaoka
  • , Dave Schroeder
  • , Hironobu Oonishi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine both simulator and retrieved total knee replacement polyethylene inserts to confirm, using scanning electron microscopy, whether similar micro-wear patterns to those seen on retrieved inserts were reproduced on simulator specimens. The simulator specimens consisted of samples subjected to sliding and rolling movement (Experiment 1) and to sliding movement only (Experiment 2). Samples from Experiment 1 demonstrated longitudinal patterns in the middle of the wear track and transverse patterns in the anterior and posterior ends, whereas in Experiment 2, only transverse patterns were observed. In the retrieved specimens, both longitudinal and transverse patterns were observed. The results showed that the simulator study reproduced similar patterns of micro-damage on polyethylene, and that the longitudinal micro-wear pattern was related to the rolling movement that is distinctive in knee kinematics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)218-225
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Biomedical Materials Research
Volume61
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2002

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Biomaterials
  • Biomedical Engineering

Keywords

  • Knee simulator
  • Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
  • Total knee replacement (TKR)
  • Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)
  • Wear

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