Abstract
A polymer composite was evaluated for use as an orthopaedic, variable screw placement (VSP) spine plate. Fretting fatigue or cyclic loading that causes micromotion at interfaces in the spine plate could cause significant wear of the composite plate. Therefore, a test method was developed to assess a continuous carbon fibre polysulphone composite plate in in vitro fretting fatigue. A relevant failure criterion was established and employed to determine the effect of torque on the fatigue life of the plate. Two failure mechanisms were observed and the plate displacement behaviour was indicative of these mechanisms. Furthermore, an optimum implant torque was defined. The results demonstrate the importance of tailoring the material to the implant application. Therefore several material improvements have been implemented.
Published Version
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