An overview of in vitro mechanical and structural characterization of hip prosthesis components

Abstract

Total Hip Replacement nowadays represents an established surgical technique that helps patients to restore a proper joint function and relieve them from pain. Research, laboratory results and improvement in the industrial testing of total hip replacement components brought important knowledge in the preclinical validation of prostheses. The preclinical validation of hip joint prostheses is a critical step for further development of new implant designs act to reduce the possibility of catastrophic failures and revision surgery. The objective of a preclinical test is to determine the wear rate and its dependence on the test conditions. In the field of wear analysis computational modelling may have the potential to help product design in minimizing wear. Best practice suggested is to enhance the data collection derived from physical wear testing through numerical modelling.