Purpose
A prosthetic ulnar head that matches the mechanical properties of the sigmoid notch
of the radius may produce a superior clinical outcome. In this study, we investigated
the feasibility of an ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) ulnar head
prosthesis as a bearing material and compared the tribology (wear properties) with
that of a cobalt chrome (CoCr) distal ulnar replacement.
Methods
We compared the friction properties, termed lubricity of the UHMWPE ulnar head prosthesis
and polished CoCr ulnar head in an in vitro joint simulator with physiologic saline maintained at body temperature. Wear of the
UHMWPE ulnar head and polished CoCr ulnar head against a synthetic bone counterface
for 1 million cycles was simulated in the in vitro joint simulator. Finally, we studied the fatigue of the UHMWPE prosthesis for 3.1
million cycles of cyclic loading. Both the fatigued and nonfatigued surface were studied
with thermal analysis to characterize the UHMWPE prosthesis.
Results
The dynamic coefficient of friction for the UHMWPE prosthesis was 0.087 ± 0.016 and
was not significantly different from the polished CoCr coefficient. The synthetic
counterface bone wear was 45 times less for the UHMWPE ulnar head prosthesis compared
with the polished CoCr head. Both the thermal properties and the viscoelastic moduli
for the fatigued UHMWPE remained unchanged compared with unloaded specimens.
Conclusions
Ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene is a low-friction material with stable fatigue
properties. In addition, in light of its low modulus of elasticity, the UHMWPE ulnar
head prosthesis demonstrated low synthetic bone counterface wear compared with the
polished cobalt chrome alloy prosthesis. In vitro joint simulation showed that there is a potential role for the UHMWPE ulnar head
prosthesis in distal radioulnar joint prosthetic arthroplasty.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
November 25,
2008
Received:
May 19,
2008
Footnotes
This study was entirely funded by REMI Sciences, Inc. Sanjiv Naidu has interests in REMI Sciences either in the form of patents, equity ownership, or stock options. Alex Radin is a paid consultant for REMI Sciences, Inc.
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 Published by Elsevier Inc.
