Fabrication and Testing of Silicon Nitride Bearings in Total Hip Arthroplasty: Winner of the 2007 “HAP” PAUL Award

Author

B. Sonny Bal
Ashok Khandkar
R. Lakshminarayanan
Ian Clarke
Aaron A. Hoffman
M. N. Rahaman, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow

Abstract

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) bearings were fabricated from silicon nitride (Si3N4) powder. Mechanical testing showed that Si3N4 had improved fracture toughness and fracture strength over modern alumina (Al2O3) ceramic. when tested with Si3N4 cups in a hip simulator, both cobalt-chromium (CoCr) and Si3N4 femoral heads produced low wear rates that were comparable to Al2O3-Al2O3 bearings in THA. This study offers experimental support for a novel metal-ceramic THA bearing couple that combines the reliability of CoCr femoral heads with the wear advantages of ceramic surfaces.

Recommended Citation

B. S. Bal et al., "Fabrication and Testing of Silicon Nitride Bearings in Total Hip Arthroplasty: Winner of the 2007 “HAP” PAUL Award," The Journal of Arthroplasty, Elsevier, Apr 2008.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arth.2008.01.300

Department(s)

Materials Science and Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Fracture Toughness; Total Hip Arthroplasty; Wear Rates; Ceramics; Silicon nitride

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2008 Elsevier, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Apr 2008