Orthopaedic Wear Debris

Background

The ability to characterise the wear debris generated from an orthopaedic implant has implications when trying to understand the host response to the implant as well the overall structural performance.

The production of wear debris can influence factors such as:

• Hypersensitivity
• Aseptic loosening of the implant and associated osteolysis
• Systemic distribution and accumulation of implant debris
• 3rd party degradation of articulating surfaces
• Bioavailability and bioreactivity of metallic species
• Design and choice of material for a specific implant

Factors such as particle size, concentration, shape and material type will influence the severity of these factors and as such, characterisation of the wear debris generated from an orthopaedic implant needs to be tested in a test rig, prior to clinical use.

The ability of the NanoSight technique to generate high resolution number vs size distributions for a sample of wear debris, allows the technique to be used in a research and development capacity in the development of orthopaedic implants. The technique can analyse ceramic, metallic or polymeric wear debris in samples of synovial fluid which have been processed to remove the proteinaceous material.

Fig.1 Number vs size distribution from a Metal-On-Metal hip prosthesis.

Fig.2 Number vs size distribution from an UHMWPE hip prosthesis.

Application Note

Download the Orthopaedic Wear Debris Application Note (Right Click, Save As)

Metallic

Polymeric