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Updated: May 12, 2026
Method and Instrumented Fixture for Femoral Fracture Testing in a Sideways Fall-on-the-Hip Position
Published on: August 17, 2017
Wear testing and particle characterisation of sequentially crosslinked polyethylene acetabular liners using different
Carmen Zietz1, Christian Fabry, Lars Middelborg
1Biomechanics and Implant Technology Research Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedics, University Medicine Rostock, Doberaner Straße 142, 18057, Rostock, Germany. carmen.zietz@med.uni-rostock.de
Abstract:
Larger femoral heads lead to a decreased risk of total hip dislocation and an improved range of motion. However, the larger diameter is associated with increased wear rates. The low wear rates of crosslinked polyethylene opens up the possibility of using larger heads. The aim of this experimental study was to evaluate the wear of conventional non-crosslinked versus sequentially crosslinked polyethylene liners in combination with different ceramic head sizes (28, 36, 44 mm). Wear testing was performed in a hip simulator according to ISO 14242. Wear particles from the polyethylene liners were characterized after wear testing. The wear measurements revealed a significant increase in the wear of crosslinked polyethylene liners with larger heads. By sequential crosslinking, however, the gravimetric wear using larger heads was reduced to a fractional amount of the wear using conventional polyethylene. Significant differences were observed for particle morphology but not for the number of particles when comparing non-crosslinked and crosslinked polyethylene.
