Improved friction and wear performance in polymeric components of orthopaedic bearings.

每年有近2.5万加拿大人和全世界60万人植入人工膝盖。这些设备通常使用由金属（钴铬）和塑料（超高分子量聚乙烯）制成的专用组件设计。它们是严重退行性关节疾病的首选治疗方法，现在正被植入活跃患者体内，有些患者年仅45岁。因此，提高其耐久性的需求增加了，特别是在塑料部件的磨损方面。虽然用于髋关节的聚乙烯的设计已经有所改进，但对于像膝盖这样的高度受力的关节来说，情况还不是这样。

Nearly 25,000 Canadians and 600,000 worldwide are implanted with an artificial knee each year. These devices are most often designed using specialized components made of metal (cobalt chrome) and plastic (ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene). They are the treatment of choice for severe degenerative joint disease, and they are now being implanted in active patients, some as young as 45. As a result, there is an increased need to improve their durability, particularly with respect to wear in the plastic component. While there have been improvements in the design of polyethylene for use in hips, this has not been the case for highly stressed joints such as the knee.