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Biomedical subjects

I C Clarke

Publications and source records attributed to I C Clarke.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Role of ceramic implants. Design and clinical success with total hip prosthetic ceramic-to-ceramic bearings.

Ceramic implants have become of great interest because of the increased awareness that wear debris from metal-polyethylene components of total hip prostheses can cause osteolysis around implants. Polyethylene wear rates with the Charnley total hip prosthesis were found to be from 0.1 to 0.2 mm/year in the elderly, which corresponded to 30 to 80 mm3 of polyethylene debris being released to the joint tissues. This in turn can be related to 40 million to 40 billion particles being released into the joint every year. This polyethylene particulate is heavily implicated in the osteolytic destruction of periarticular tissues. The ceramic ball, ceramic cup combination of total hip prostheses may have promise of wear rates that could be thousands of times smaller than polyethylene alone. Such alumina ceramic prosthetic concepts were introduced in Europe from 1970 to 1973. Under Food and Drug Administration regulations at that time, the only U.S. introductions allowed circa 1980 were the Autophor and Xenophor types of ceramic prostheses. However, this particular prosthetic design was not successful in the United States because of pain, neck-socket impingement, ceramic fracture, and component loosening. This did not therefore appear to be a successful compromise in the hands of U.S. surgeons. Ceramic innovations from Europe now include cemented ceramic cups of "matching" tolerances with the femoral ball, and press-fit Ti-alloy acetabular shells with modular ceramic inserts. In addition, alumina and zirconia ceramic balls are now in routine clinical use in Europe. The objectives of this Symposium are to highlight these ceramic ball, ceramic cup innovations with their long-term clinical results from Europe. Then one can evaluate which of these innovations in material and design selections offers the best possible alternatives in the 1990s.

Alloys↗
PubMed1992

Mechanism and clinical significance of wear debris-induced osteolysis.

Loosening of joint replacement components is often multifactorial. The quality of initial fixation is very important to the outcome of the arthroplasty and is often a factor in short-term and long-term failure. This paper discusses another important factor of implant loosening, namely wear debris induced osteolysis. Macrophages activated by the phagocytosis of particulate wear debris are the key cells in this process, which can potentially occur in any implant system regardless of implant design or fixation mode. This is because each implant system creates wear debris from the articulating surfaces and the interfaces. The clinical consequences of wear debris cover a broad spectrum from radiolucencies to massive osteolysis and implant failure. For this reason, the reduction of wear debris should be a primary goal of orthopedic research in the future.

Bone and Bones↗
PubMed1985

Fluid-sorption phenomena in sterilized polyethylene acetabular prostheses.

The weight changes due to fluid-sorption were measured in 62 radiation-sterilized acetabular sockets and 10 unsterilized discs. The materials included two types of ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) polyethylene (RCH 1000; Hi-Fax 1900) and a carbon-fibre-reinforced polyethylene (CFPE). The fluid absorption curve was consistently biphasic. In the first 30 d soak-period (Phase 1), the initial rate of fluid absorption averaged 153 micrograms/d for conventional UHMW polyethylene and 278 micrograms/d for carbon-fibre-reinforced polyethylene. In Phase 2, beyond 30 d and up to 400 d, fluid absorption reduced to linear rates of 27 micrograms/d for UHMW polyethylene and 43 micrograms/d for CFPE. The latter soak-weight-gain values corresponded to only 0.00016%/d and 0.00034%/d respectively. There was little difference in absorption rates between sterilized and unsterilized samples. However soak rates were generally higher in water compared to serum.

Absorption↗
PubMed1983

Radiographic techniques for consistent visualization of total hip arthroplasties.

Using a chariot as a patient support system, it becomes possible to obtain consistent radiographic visualization of the hip. The chariot radiographs also allow for a more precise evaluation of the hip at follow-up visits. In most cases subsequent radiographs can be superimposed, differentiating between patient posture and biomechanical characteristics. The consistent patient positions and beam centering facilitate follow-up roentgenography with a higher degree of accuracy. True progression, particularly to a minor degree, can only be assessed with consistently reproducible positions for roentgenographic examinations. The chariot provides roentgenograms at a low cost and is a useful adjunct to diagnostic methods.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Wear-screening and joint simulation studies vs. materials selection and prosthesis design.

Satisfactory friction and wear performance of orthomedic biomaterials is an essential criterion for both hemiarthroplasty and total joint replacements. This report will chart the clinical historical experience of candidate biomaterials with their wear resistance and compare/contrast these data to experimental test predictions. The latter review will encompass publications dealing with both joint simulators and the more basic friction and wear screening devices. Special consideration will be given to the adequacy of the test protocol, the design of the experimental machines, and the accuracy of the measurement techniques. The discussion will then center on clinical reality vs. experimental adequacy and summarize current developments.

Bone and Bones↗
PubMed1982

Porous ingrowth fixation of the femoral component in a canine surface replacement of the hip.

Prosthetic fixation by growth of bone into porous implants coated with a sintered layer of cobalt chrome beads offers an attractive alternative to acrylic cementation. Experiments on dogs demonstrate that bone ingrowth occurred into the femoral component of a hip surface replacement. Methods of stabilizing prostheses in order to promote bone ingrowth must not interfere with the uniformity of stress transfer at the bone - implant interface. Ingrowth occurred as early as the second week postimplantation. The absence of any fibrous membrane formation in the interface between bone and metal suggests that sintered chrome cobalt is a highly compatible biological system, and that fixation by bone ingrowth is stable and does not promote osteoclasis and progression to a fibrous membrane at the interface.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Prosthetic hip range of motion and impingement. The effects of head and neck geometry.

Two major design parameters to total hip arthroplasty which can be selected to optimize for anatomical variation are head diameter and neck length. By using a cadaveric pelvis mounted in a three-dimensional protractor, it was shown that increased head-neck diameter ratio results in increased range of motion, with decreased prosthetic impingement, and that increased neck-length results in increased range of motion, with increased prosthetic impingement. Head diameter has no range of motion effect in arcs characterized exclusively by bony impingement, and neck length has no range of motion effect in arcs characterized exclusively by prosthetic impingement. The surgeon is currently confronted with a variety of prostheses with different head-neck diameter ratios and neck lengths. When choosing the optimal prosthesis for a particular patient, the surgeon is often restricted by various anatomical constraints. While a large head diameter cannot always be chosen, an adequate range of motion without prosthetic impingement can still be achieved by ensuring that head-neck diameter ratio is optimum. A sufficient neck length to ensure adequate range of motion is desirable, but the neck should not be so long that neck-socket impingement is of concern. Optimum clinical range of motion, with minimal prosthetic impingement, may be achieved with a large head size and a medium neck length.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗
PubMed1982

Symposium on Surface Replacement Arthroplasty of the Hip. Biomechanics: mutifactorial design choices--an essential compromise?

The main flaws to be overcome in realizing the potential success of the double-cup arthroplasty procedure are failures due to femoral cup loosening, acetabular cup loosening, and femoral-neck fractures. The clinical uncertainties include the selection of a suitable patient with adequate bone stock and the technical difficulties associated with (I) reaming the acetabulum adequately, (2) reaming down onto the neck without violating it, and (3) anchoring the components securely by interdigitation of acrylic cement. The higher frictional torques of the double-cup arthroplasty designs are not a clinical loosening issue--the resulting acetabular cement-bone shear stresses are very low. Computer models of both the femoral and acetabular components predict significant stress shielding of the cancellous bone under metal femoral shells. At the rim of the femoral cup, the stresses are increased by a factor of 3 owing to the stress concentration effect and can rise to a factor of 10 if cystic or osteoporotic changes are present. This finding if confirmed in the three-dimensional models may explain some of the femoral neck fractures. The thin polyethylene acetabular cups may also cause a stress concentration effect on the underlying cement and bone. This may explain the higher incidence of radiographic loosening around the acetabulum in double-cup arthroplasty designs compared with total hip replacements. Metal-backed sockets may reduce cancellous bone stresses and appear advantageous. There is no clinical evidence of unusual wear or wear-related problems. However, new material formulations are now either in use or being planned for the double-cup arthroplasty designs. As yet, there have been no published data on hip simulator wear for the efficacy of any of the current or proposed changes. Biologic fixation appears to be the theme for the 1980s. However, the combination of technology, design instrumentation, and patient selection will be critical in achieving success with this technically difficult procedure.

Acetabulum↗
PubMed1979

Development of a ceramic surface replacement for the hip. An experimental Sialon model.

The objective of this study was to investigate the design and fixation advantages of Sialon ceramic surface replacements implanted without acrylic bone cement. The biocompatibility and friction and wear properties of Sialon ceramic were compared with more conventional prosthetic materials such as stainless steel and alumina. A functional load-bearing canine hip surface replacement model was established to test Sialon femoral cups designed for fixation by bone ingrowth. The results of the polyethylene wear tests on highly polished ceramic and stainless steel counterfaces were essentially similar. These laboratory data indicated that the in-vivo polyethylene wear performance on metal or ceramic prosthetic surfaces could be expected to be indistinguishable, i.e. the ceramic/polyethylene combination would not offer any improved wear resistance in-vivo. It was found possible to get bone ingrowth into the macrokeying areas of the ceramic femoral cups but not into the microporous surfaces due to the presence of a fibrous membrane lining their internal surfaces. The biocompatability specimens also appeared to be invested with a fibrous membrane. Further studies are under way to determine the relationship between reaming procedures, micro motion at the interfaces and Sialon biocompatibility.

Aluminum↗
PubMed1978

Wear characteristics of UHMW polyethylene: a method for accurately measuring extremely low wear rates.

The wear of UHMW polyethylene bearing against 316 stainless steel or cobalt chrome alloy was measured using a 12-channel wear tester especially developed for the evaluation of candidate materials for prosthetic joints. The coefficient of friction and wear rate was determined as a function of lubricant, contact stress, and metallic surface roughness in tests lasting two to three million cycles, the equivalent of several years' use of a prosthesis. Wear was determined from the weight loss of the polyethylene specimens corrected for the effect of fluid absorption. The friction and wear processes in blood serum differed markedly from those in saline solution or distilled water. Only serum lubrication produced wear surfaces resembling those observed on removed prostheses. The experimental method provided a very accurate reproducible measurement of polyethylene wear. The long-term wear rates were proportional to load and sliding distance and were much lower than expected from previously published data. Although the polyethylene wear rate increased with increasing surface roughness, wear was not severe except with very coarse metal surfaces. The data obtained in these studies forms a basis for the subsequent comparative evaluation of potentially superior materials for prosthetic joints.

Absorption↗