Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Failure Analysis Of Retrieved Uhmwpe Tibial Insert In Total Knee Replacement

A.S. Md Abdul Haseeb

This study involves the failure analysis of an ultra high molecular polyethylene (UHMWPE) tibial insert from Apollo® Total Knee System, which was removed after 10. years of service from 70. years old female patient. The tibial insert was investigated by using a stereoscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), infinite focus microscope (IFM) and energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS) to characterize the morphology and composition of the bearing surface. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR) were employed to characterize the degradation and crystallinity of the component. Gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) was used to measure the polyethylene tibial insert molecular weight. Results …