Are PEEK-on-Ceramic Bearings an Option for Total Disc Arthroplasty? An In Vitro Tribology Study.

CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the idealized PEEK-on-ceramic wear rate (0.7 ± 0.1 mm(3)/MC) appears comparable to the published wear rates for other polymer-on-hard bearing couples (0.3-6.7 mm(3)/MC) and within the range of 0.2 to 1.9 mm(3)/MC reported for PEEK-on-PEEK cervical disc designs. The particles, based on size and morphology, also suggest the wear mechanism is comparable between the PEEK-on-ceramic couple and other polymer-on-ceramic orthopaedic couples.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The PEEK-on-ceramic bearing considered in this study is a novel bearing couple for use in total disc arthroplasty devices and will require clinical evaluation to fully assess the bearing couple and total disc design. However, the wear rates under idealized and adverse conditions, and particle size and morphology, suggest that PEEK-on-ceramic bearings may be a reasonable alternative to polyethylene-on-CoCr and metal-on-metal bearings currently used in cervical TDRs.
PMID: 27677290 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research - September 26, 2016 Category: Orthopaedics Authors: Siskey R, Ciccarelli L, Lui MK, Kurtz SM Tags: Clin Orthop Relat Res Source Type: research