Comparative gravimetric wear analysis in mobile versus fixed-bearing posterior stabilized total knee prostheses

Polyethylene (PE) wear is the limiting factor for the longevity of a conventional total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Excessive wear leads to loosening and eventual implant failure. The aim of our in vitro study was to investigate wear of a PE tibial insert on a rotating platform as compared to the same insert fixed to the tibial baseplate and articulating with a similar femoral component. All tests were performed at Endolab Laboratories, Rosenheim, Germany using a knee joint simulator following ISO 14243-1. Three specific configurations were tested and compared to a loaded soak control: (1) the rotating platform using machined polyethylene (PE), (2) fixed bearing using machined PE, (3) fixed bearing using compression-moulded PE. Calf serum with a high protein concentration of 30 g/l was chosen as test lubricant. PE wear was measured gravimetrically using the ISO 14243-2 protocol. The total wear rates found for all systems tested were low. The mean wear rate was 1.40 mg per million cycles for the moulded fixed bearing, 4.07 mg per million cycles for the machined fixed bearing type and 0.82 mg per million cycles for the machined rotating platform bearing type. We conclude that the TKA system we tested (Performance, Biomet, Warsaw, IND, USA) demonstrated very low gravimetric wear. The wear rate of the same implant in the fixed mode compared to the rotating platform mode was four times higher.