ROENTGENOGRAPHIC AND MECHANICAL PERFORMANCE OF CENTRIFUGED CEMENT IN A SIMULATED TOTAL HIP-ARTHROPLASTY MODEL

Roentgenographic analysis showed that centrifugation significantly reduced the gross and regional porosity of the cement compared with hand-mixed controls in a simulated total hip arthroplasty model. Static failure test of the prosthetic system demonstrated that the centrifuged cement had significantly greater strength than the hand-mixed cement. Under low-cycle fatigue tests of the same composite models, there was a trend for the centrifuged cement to be stronger than the hand-mixed specimens, although statistically it was not significant. Thus, centrifugation can reduce porosity and significantly improve the static strength of cement in a simulated in vitro total hip replacement model. When cement is used, any possible improvement in the physical properties of bone cement should be considered.