The Effect of the Slip Ratio in Sagittal Plane on the Wear of UHMWPE Bearings in TKR

Abstract

Reducing the sliding distance by decreasing slip ratio which occur during knee articulation helps to reduce the wear rate of the ultra-high molecular polyethylene (UHMWPE) bearings in total knee replacements (TKR). However, in the limited space in knee, a smaller sagittal radius of femoral articular surface which leads to greater contact pressure that may aggravate wear is needed to make a smaller slip ratio possible. This paper described a model for evaluating the effect of slip ratio in sagittal plane on the wear depth of UHMWPE bearings. The results showed that decreasing the sagittal radius of femoral articular surface properly was an effective approach to reduce the wear of UHMWPE bearings.