Finite Element Analysis of the Mechanical Behaviour of a Reinforced PMMA-Based Hip Spacer

The designs of hip joint prostheses have an influence on both the quality of the metal–bone cement contact and the failure rate of the cement mantle. The designers of implant systems must confront biomaterial and biomechanical problems, including in vivo forces on implants, load transmission to the interface, and interfacial tissue response. Cement spacers are being increasingly used for revision arthroplasties. In this study, a three-dimensional finite elements method is used to analyse the mechanical behaviour of the reinforced spacer out of the bone cement (PMMA) by computing the maximum stress. One of the most important factors in the reinforce design is to reduce the stress on the bone cement and the femur. The static load analysis is based, by selecting the peak load during the normal walking activity. Results show that, Von Mises stress is significantly reduced in the cement bone of full-stem and rod reinforced spacers.