Metal-metal cervical disc implants: A material investigation using pin-on-plate tests

摘要

The tribological behaviour of two material pairs was explored for the application of metal-metal cervical disc replacement. Efforts are being made to find a material pair that minimizes wear while at the same time permitting acceptable postoperative imaging. The current study investigated wear and friction of stainless steel (used in an earlier design cervical disc implant) and a titanium-based metal matrix composite. Pin-on-plate wear tests were performed with both linear-tracking and crossing-path reciprocating motions. The metal matrix composite had a superior wear performance compared to stainless steel for both types of motion. When tested with crossing-path motion, the total wear of metal matrix composite showed a decrease compared with linear-tracking motion while total wear was not affected for the stainless steel. Friction tests were performed on stainless steel, metal matrix composite and, for comparison purposes, a high carbon cobalt-based alloy. Both the metal matrix c omposite a nd stainless st eel h ad c oefficients of friction that were higher than the cobalt-based alloy.