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SUMMARY:Synovial Fluid Lubrication of Artificial Joints - Phillipa Cann\, 
 Tribology Group\, Department of Mechanical Engineering\, Imperial College 
 London
DTSTART:20140605T103000Z
DTEND:20140605T113000Z
UID:TALK51603@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Catherine Pearson
DESCRIPTION:Artificial implants offer an engineering solution to the loss 
 of joint function due to trauma or disease. The number of procedures has r
 apidly increased over the last 50 years\; for example there are over 90\,0
 00 total hip replacements yearly in the UK alone. However there are signif
 icant clinical concerns over the use of 2nd generation Metal-on-Metal (MoM
 ) hip joints as these have been associated with the development of peripro
 sthetic tissue lesions. The UK National Joint Register reports higher than
  expected revision rates for LHMoM joints (>5%) compared to 2% for convent
 ional MoM hips. Implant failure is often linked to high levels of metal io
 ns in the blood and severe implant wear often due to edge loading. The rea
 sons for increased wear and failure are complex and include design\, metal
 lurgy\, implantation (particularly cup position) and patient factors. The 
 patient factors include gait\, lifestyle and synovial fluid (SF) compositi
 on. Most studies of hip joint tribology have focussed on material and desi
 gn aspects usually tested under optimised gait conditions\, whilst researc
 h into fundamental mechanisms of synovial fluid lubrication and the effect
  of patient SF composition on implant wear has been ignored. Artificial hi
 ps are lubricated by periprosthetic SF which reforms in the synovial cavit
 y after the operation. Healthy and periprosthetic SF contains a complex mi
 xture of large and surface active molecules including proteins\, phospholi
 ds and hyaluronan. The lubrication behaviour of SF is therefore complex an
 d not described by simple fluid models and this has significant implicatio
 ns for the development of suitable screening methods and predictive models
  for implant lubrication. The talk will present some of the background to 
 the MoM problem and recent research into the mechanisms of SF lubricant fi
 lm formation and the implications of these findings for our understanding 
 of implant tribology.
LOCATION:Open Plan Area\, BP Institute\, Madingley Rise CB3 0EZ
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