Materials for Total Hip Joint Prostheses: Biaxial Flexural Strength of Two Ceramic Systems

Abstract

Total hip joint replacement is one of the most successful orthopaedic surgeries in the last decade. Essential part of total hip joint prostheses is the mobile joint “hemispherical head - hemispherical cup”. Functional properties and durability of the implanted prosthesis in the human body depend crucially on the mechanical and tribological properties and characteristics of materials of articulated parts.
Development and improvement of implant technology are inextricably linked with the development of new materials and, in particular, new ceramic materials with improved mechanical characteristics. This in turn requires improving methods of preliminary testing and evaluation of these characteristics.
In the paper materials for hip prostheses and methods for evaluation of their mechanical characteristics are briefly reviewed. The results of preliminary studies on some characteristics of reinforced titanium ceramics are presented.