PhD Studentship available at the University of Nottingham (fwd)

HIP IMPLANT WEAR AND DEGRADATION
PhD Studentship available at the University of Nottingham

Overall Aims
Exploration of the links between surface characteristics and in-service
behaviour of the cup and head of replacement hip joints which have
failed in service, and
Laboratory evaluation of possible materials for replacement joints.

Why here?
Join a vibrant research community (RAE grade 5) that includes
biomaterials, biomechanics and surface engineering.
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/school4m/

What next?
If you are interested and due to graduate with a 2:1 or better degree
then contact
Dr Nicola Everitt, Senior Lecturer in Materials Engineering,
School of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering with
Management,
Email: Nicola.Everitt@Nottingham.ac.uk or Tel: (0115) 8466496

Project Description
Replacement hip joints have revolutionised the management of patients
who would otherwise be crippled by arthritis. Unfortunately there is an
unexpectedly high incident of failures causing second or third
replacement surgery to be needed. One of the biggest causes of failure
is wear which either leads to mechanical failure of the acetabluar cup
as the polyethylene wears through, or causes failure because of the
bodies reaction to the wear particles produced either from the cup or
the femoral head.
The Queens Medical Centre (QMC) is a UK leader in joint replacement
surgery. I am involved in setting up a bank of the implants which are
retrieved when a repeat joint replacement has to take place. This
offers the opportunity to examine and mechanically assess a selected
subset of the 120 hip joints retrieved per year. The student would be
able to investigate statistical links between patient profiles, time of
failure etc. with the mechanical properties and wear of both the
acetabular cups and femoral heads of the retrieved joints. This is
particularly important in light of the recent changes to sterilization
techniques for ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) cups,
and moves towards using other materials such as ceramics.
The project could also involve laboratory evaluation of the effect of
sterilization techniques, and also possible replacement materials such
as ceramic films or metal impregnated polymer.
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) will be one of the main tools used to
provide accurate 3-dimensional topography plots and surface roughness
characterisation of crucial points on the femoral heads and acetabular
cups, and to help quantify wear. AFM can also provide localised
material property information. The existing School expertise in surface
profilometry for wear evaluation, hardness testing and a range of
analysis techniques, such as differential scanning calorimetry to look
at polymer crystallinity, would also be available to the student.
Received on Wed May 22 11:47:59 2002