Impact strength of cemented implant interfaces

Bone cement is a polymer used as filler material for the attachment of bone to implants in cemented joint replacements. Stronger interdigitation of the bone cement with both the implant and the bone provides a more durable surgical intervention. In previous studies published in the literature to date, tensile, shear and multi-axial stress occurring on the interfaced surfaces of the cement due to static and dynamic loads acting on the femur have been tested. This study investigated the impact strength of both implant-cement and cement-bone interfaces in a cemented implant. The effects of different implant materials, blasting sand particle size and cement mantle thickness on impact strength were investigated. It was determined that the surface roughness values of the implant materials increased as larger blasting sand particles were applied. As the surface roughness increased, the interfacial impact strength also increased. The impact strength of the cement-bone interface was higher than that of the implant-cement interface. The optimum mantle thickness in terms of impact strength was found to be 2 mm. Under impact force, failure will occur at the implant-bone cement interface.