A Brief History of Hip Replacements
The main method of manufacturing for Hip and Knee replacements is by Lost Wax Investment casting. However, 3D printing technologies are becoming a viable option with many of the leading Hip and Knee manufacturers developing new products using Additive Manufacturing aka 3D printing.
It is interesting to look at the history of Hip replacements and how far the industry has come.
Below is a brief look at the art of Artificial Hip Joint Replacement and their performance.
1891 – Gluck, Ivory ball and socket joints
1923-1937- Smith-Peterson, Use of celluloid resin for Heads and Co-Cr alloy for stem. Necrosis (tissue death) resulted in the failure of the implants.
1930-1946 Judet Bro, the femoral head was made of methyl methacrylate. Failure was attributed to wear and loosening.
1938-Wiles, first total hip replacement made of stainless steel. Failure attributed to loosening and inadequate fixation.
1950-McKee, Metal on Metal Co-Cr alloy. Failure due to high friction.
1957-Charnley, Stainless steel on PTFE Cup. Failure due to excessive wear.
1959-Charnley, Stainless steel on UHMWPE. Good performance
1963-Ring, Press fit Co-Cr head on Ti Stem
1980’s – saw the introduction of porous coatings and cementless fixations.
It will be an interesting few years to see new technologies such as 3D-pritning in action and what products can be realised. Watch this space.
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