Tribological Aspect Of Human Hip Joint

3899 Words16 Pages
INTRODUCTION Natural synovial joints such as hip and knees are remarkable bearings. The Engineering studies of lubrication, friction and wear of human and artificial joints has provided a great deal of understanding on how natural joints work and why they fail. It also allows manufacturing of artificial joints for surgical implementation in the case of severe ‘ARTHTIS’. The increasing life expectancy of the ageing population and the need to surgically treat arthritis in increasing numbers of younger patients is placing greater demands on the durability and expected clinical lifetime of artificial hip joints. In the area of orthopedic implants, particularly total hip joint replacements, a metal plastic combination is the most popular choice. Wear of prosthetic joints, especially total hip prostheses, is a significant clinical problem. The wear products of the implants cause adverse tissue reactions which may lead to substantial loss of bone around the implant and consequently loosening of the fixation. This requires a revision operation, in which the loose prosthesis is replaced with revision prosthesis. However, the revision operations are complicated and expensive, and their results are often poor. There is now considerable interest in modified materials and surfaces, with better damage and corrosion resistance, which could potentially improve the durability and tribological performance of hip prostheses. TRIBOLOGY WHAT IS TRIBOLOGY? “Tribology” is the relatively new term in the engineering sciences. It has been derived from the Greek word ‘TRIBOS’ which means rubbing process. Tribology is defined as the science of interacting surfaces in relative motion. In any machine there are lots of component parts that operate by rubbing together. All of these component parts have two surfaces which come into contact, support a load and move with respect to

More about Tribological Aspect Of Human Hip Joint

Open Document