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Updated: Jul 30, 2025
Imaging of the Microstructural Failure Mechanism in the Human Hip
Published on: September 29, 2023
Biomechanical Effects of the Porous Structure of Gyroid and Voronoi Hip Implants: A Finite Element Analysis Using an
Zatul Faqihah Mohd Salaha1,2, Muhammad Imam Ammarullah3,4,5, Nik Nur Ain Azrin Abdullah1,2
1Bone Biomechanics Laboratory (BBL), Department of Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru 81310, Johor, Malaysia.
Insights
Porous hip implants, specifically Voronoi lattice structures, show reduced stress and displacement compared to solid designs. This research supports improved osteointegration and blood circulation in total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Engineering
- Orthopaedic Surgery
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a successful procedure, but solid implants can cause cortical bone resorption due to arterial damage.
- Improved implant design is crucial for better patient outcomes and long-term implant survival.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and evaluate porous hip implants using topology optimization for enhanced osteointegration and revascularization.
- To compare the mechanical performance of Voronoi and Gyroid lattice structures against a solid implant design.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and topology optimization were used to develop lightweight porous implant designs.
- SolidWorks and nTopology software were used for implant design, with titanium alloys as the material.
- Finite element analysis (FEA) in Marc Mentat simulated mechanical performance under physiological loading conditions.
Main Results:
- The Voronoi lattice structure exhibited the lowest von Mises stress (313.96 MPa) and displacement (1.50 mm).
- Porous hip implant designs maintained mechanical integrity while offering potential for improved bone integration and circulation.
- Results provide data for orthopaedic surgeons and biomechanical researchers.
Conclusions:
- Topology-optimized porous hip implants, particularly the Voronoi lattice, offer a promising alternative to solid designs.
- These advanced designs can enhance osteointegration and medullary revascularization, potentially improving THA outcomes.
- Further biomechanical studies can leverage these findings for next-generation hip implant development.
Abstract:
Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is most likely one of the most successful surgical procedures in medicine. It is estimated that three in four patients live beyond the first post-operative year, so appropriate surgery is needed to alleviate an otherwise long-standing suboptimal functional level. However, research has shown that during a complete THA procedure, a solid hip implant inserted in the femur can damage the main arterial supply of the cortex and damage the medullary space, leading to cortical bone resorption. Therefore, this study aimed to design a porous hip implant with a focus on providing more space for better osteointegration, improving the medullary revascularisation and blood circulation of patients. Based on a review of the literature, a lightweight implant design was developed by applying topology optimisation and changing the materials of the implant. Gyroid and Voronoi lattice structures and a solid hip implant (as a control) were designed. In total, three designs of hip implants were constructed by using SolidWorks and nTopology software version 2.31. Point loads were applied at the x, y and z-axis to imitate the stance phase condition. The forces represented were x = 320 N, y = -170 N, and z = -2850 N. The materials that were used in this study were titanium alloys. All of the designs were then simulated by using Marc Mentat software version 2020 (MSC Software Corporation, Munich, Germany) via a finite element method. Analysis of the study on topology optimisation demonstrated that the Voronoi lattice structure yielded the lowest von Mises stress and displacement values, at 313.96 MPa and 1.50 mm, respectively, with titanium alloys as the materials. The results also indicate that porous hip implants have the potential to be implemented for hip implant replacement, whereby the mechanical integrity is still preserved. This result will not only help orthopaedic surgeons to justify the design choices, but could also provide new insights for future studies in biomechanics.
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