Chapter 16 - Fujifilm Measurements of Interfacial Contact Area and Stress in Articulating Joints

Abstract

Human articulating joints (e.g., shoulder, hip, knee) are junctions of two cartilage-covered bones moving against each other at a common interface. Joints help transfer loads from bone to bone to permit human movement. However, osteoarthritis is a disease that damages cartilage, resulting in bone-on-bone articulation, which is painful and debilitating. Each year, one million surgeries are done globally to insert a total joint replacement (TJR), which replaces human articulating surfaces with artificial components made from ceramic, metal, and/or polymer. TJRs, however, can experience forces and motions that create wear debris, leading to osteolysis, device loosening, and revision surgery as early as 6–8years. Consequently, interfacial contact area and stress are important factors for joint health and survival. Fujifilm (FF) is a single-use, easy-to-use, inexpensive, nontoxic, nondestructive, pressure-sensitive film with a well-established test protocol. It has been widely used to study the in vitro contact mechanics of orthopaedics applications, especially human and artificial shoulder joints, hip joints, and knee joints. Therefore, this chapter explains FF testing as well as how to analyze, present, and interpret results.