Wear of Human Joint Prosthetic Devices of Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene(UHMWPE)a Result of Mechanical Compression

摘要

For more than 30 years,ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene(UHMWPE)has been used as a bearing material in total-joint-replacementprostheses.Such orthopaedic implants usually comprise a metal(typically a cobalt-chromium alloy)or ceramic component that articulates against a UHMWPE component in vioo use.It has been well established that the longeuity of such implants depends on the wear performance of the UHMWPE components[1,2].The presence ofparticulate wear debris of UHMWPE that is generated due to the sliding of UHMWPE components against the metal or ceramic counter-face has been linked to complications such as tissue inflammation,bone loss(or osteolysis),and implant loosening.Osteolysis resulting from wear of UHMWPE is recognized as the leading problem in orthopaedic surgery today.Because de wear uolume influence the mechanical performances of a prosthetic device in this paper is studied the variation of the wear uolume depending on the number of cycle motion and the time.