OBJECTIVES Third-body wear is believed to be one trigger for adverse results with metal-on-metal (MOM) bearings. Impingement and subluxation may release metal particles from MOM replacements. We therefore challenged MOM bearings with relevant debris types of cobalt-chrome alloy (CoCr), titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) and polymethylmethacrylate bone cement (PMMA). METHODS Cement flakes (PMMA), CoCr a...

New colorimetric methods are described for determination of sub-milligram amounts of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) wear particles. These methods are based on the irreversible binding of the fluorescein-conjugated bovine serum albumin or the hydrophobic dye Oil Red O to wear particles. UHMWPE particles bind both substances from their solutions and thus decrease the absorbance...

Sir,—The hypothesis of wear particles causing foreign-body reaction, periprosthetic osteolysis and eventually prosthetic loosening was already put forward in the 1970s (Brinkmann and Heilmann 1974, Willert et al. 1974). The term cement disease was coined in the 1980s (Jones and Hungerford 1987), generalized to particle disease in the 1990s (Harris 1994), and wear particles are still widely cons...

Multiple factors have been identified as contributing to polyethylene wear and debris generation of the acetabular lining. Polyethylene wear is the primary limiting factor in the functional behavior and consequent longevity of a total hip arthroplasty (THA). This retrospective study reviewed the clinical and radiographic data of 77 consecutive THAs comparing in vivo polyethylene wear of two sim...

Adhesive wear occurs by the transfer of material from one surface to another when two surfaces articulate against each other under load. The transferred material could break off and act as third-body particles resulting in abrasive wear. Abrasive wear occurs when material is removed from a surface by hard asperities on the counterface and hard particles (third body) trapped between the two cont...

This article reviews recent progress in our investigations into the wear particles which accumulate in prosthetic and natural diarthrodial joints. Ferrographic analysis of these particles is providing new insight into the manner in which joints undergo wear in situ. It also has the potential to serve as a diagnostic and prognostic technique, with special application to monitoring very early cha...

This paper investigates the analysis of microscopic particles generated by wear mechanisms using image processing techniques. Particles are classified using their visual and morphological attributes to predict wear failure in engines and other machinery. The paper describes the stages of identification processing involved including a neural network system to classify wear articles in terms of t...

The paper describes a knowledge based system for analysis of microscopic wear particles. Wear particles contained in lubricating oil carry important information concerning machine condition, in particular the state of wear. Experts (Tribologists) in the field extract this information to monitor the operation of the machine and ensure safety, efficiency, quality, productivity, and economy of ope...