Investigation of stair ascending and descending activities on the lifespan of hip implants

Abstract

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) surgeries among young patients are on the increase, so it is crucial to predict the lifespan of hip implants correctly and produce solutions to improve longevity. Current implants are designed and tested against walking conditions to predict the wear rates. However, it would be reasonable to include the additional effects of other daily life activities on wear rates to predict convergent results to clinical outputs. In this study, 14 participants are recruited to perform stair ascending (AS), descending (DS), and walking activities to obtain kinematic and kinetic data for each cycle using marker based Qualisys motion capture (MOCAP) system. AnyBody Modeling System using the Calibrated Anatomical System Technique (CAST) full body marker set are performed Multibody simulations. The 3D generic musculoskeletal model used in this study is a marker-based full-body motion capture model (AMMR,2.3.1 MoCapModel) consisting of the upper extremity and the Twente Lower Extremity Model (TLEM2). The dynamic wear prediction model detailing the intermittent and overall wear rates for CoCr-on-XLPE bearing couple is developed to investigate the wear mechanism under 3D loading for AS, DS, and walking activities over 5 million cycles (Mc) by using finite element modelling technique. The volumetric wear rates of XLPE liner under AS, DS, and walking activities over 5-Mc are predicted as 27.43, 23.22, and 18.84 mm3/Mc respectively. Additionally, the wear rate was predicted by combining stair activities and gait cycles based on the walk-to-stair ratio. By adding the effect of stair activities, the volumetric wear rate of XLPE is predicted as 22.02 mm3/Mc which is equivalent to 19.41% of walking. In conclusion, in this study, the effect of including other daily life activities is demonstrated and evidence is provided by matching them to the clinical data as opposed to simulator test results of implants under ISO 14242 boundary conditions.