easuring the wear of a new, all-polymer PEEK-OPTIMA femoral knee component for total knee replacement

五分之一接受传统金属-聚乙烯假体全膝关节置换术的患者对假体不满意。造成这种不满意的一个潜在原因与制造接头的材料有关。钴铬股骨组件重，具有高模量，低导热性和释放金属离子的潜力。为了解决这些问题，Invibio有限公司开发了一种新颖的全聚合物膝关节置换解决方案，包括PEEK-OPTIMA股骨组件和全聚乙烯胫骨组件。关节置换等肌肉骨骼干预措施的进步对老龄化人口至关重要，旨在提供更好的生活质量，为更大的市场带来高标准的负担得起的医疗保健，同时解决国家和全球医疗保健问题。在临床采用新的医疗器械之前，应该对膝关节在广泛的临床相关条件下的功能表现进行调查，这些条件与膝关节将在体内承受的情况相似。特别是，了解膝关节置换术的摩擦学对预测其体内寿命非常重要。在这种材料组合中，不能再假设磨损将局限于UHMWPE胫骨插入物，并且了解股骨PEEK组件是否会发生磨损将是至关重要的。目前，评估股骨部件磨损的方法是有限的，并且在这种情况下，由于材料的考虑，例如PEEK材料的吸湿性，使其更加复杂。因此，本博士研究的重点将是开发和验证新的测量方法，以确定PEEK股骨组件的磨损。

One in 5 total knee replacement patients receiving a conventional metal-on-polyethylene implant report dissatisfaction with their prosthesis. One potential reason for this dissatisfaction relates to the materials from which the joint is manufactured. The cobalt chrome femoral component is heavy, has a high modulus, low thermal conductivity and the potential to release metal ions. To address these issues, Invibio Limited have developed a novel all polymer knee replacement solution, comprising PEEK-OPTIMA femoral component coupled with an all-polyethylene tibial component. The advancement of such musculoskeletal interventions such as joint replacements is essential to the ageing population and aims to provide better quality of life, bring high standard affordable healthcare to a larger market whilst tackling national and global healthcare issues. Prior to clinical adoption of new medical devices, the functional performance under a wide envelope of clinically relevant conditions replicating those the knee will be subjected to in the body should be investigated. In particular, understanding the tribology of the knee replacement is important to predict its longevity in vivo. In this material combination, it can no longer be assumed that wear will be constrained to the UHMWPE tibial insert, and it will be critical to understand whether wear of the femoral PEEK component will occur. Currently, methods to assess the wear of the femoral component are limited, and compounded by material considerations in this case such as moisture uptake by the PEEK material. The focus of this PhD research will therefore be the development and validation of new measurement methods to determine the wear of the PEEK femoral component.