Comparative study of two materials for dynamic hip screw during fall and gait loading: titanium alloy and stainless...

Internal fixation with dynamic hip screw is a choice of treatment for hip fractures to stabilize a femoral fracture. Choosing the proper implant and its material has a great effect on the healing process and failure prevention. The purpose of this analysis was to assess biomechanical behavior of dynamic hip screw with two different materials implanted in the femur during fall and gait.

A 3D finite element model of an intact femur and a 3D implant within the same femur were developed. A finite element analysis was carried out to establish the effect of load conditions and implant material properties on biomechanical behavior of the dynamic hip screw after internal fixation. Two load configurations are chosen: one simulating the stance phase of the normal gait cycle, and the other replicating a low-energy fall. The implanted femur was investigated with two different materials for the dynamic hip screw: stainless steel and titanium alloy.

During stance, more stress is placed on the implanted femur compared with the intact femur. During a fall, the implanted femur is in a greater state of stress, which mostly occurs inside the dynamic hip screw. Titanium alloy decreases stress levels by an average of 40% compared with stainless steel. However, deformation is slightly reduced with a stainless steel dynamic hip screw during both load cases.

After internal fixation, dynamic hip screw generates greater stresses within the implanted femur compared with the intact femur under the same loading conditions. A titanium alloy implant appears to undergo less stress from a low-energy fall compared with stainless steel and can be considered the preferred implant material. The critical parts of the dynamic hip screw are the forth distal screw and the plate.