- Home
- Surgeons Information
- Abrasion Resistance
Oxinium™ Abrasion Resistance
4900 Times More Abrasion Resistant Than Colbalt Chrome
When hard, third-body particles roughen the metal femoral component, it leads to scratches and increased abrasive wear of the softer poly counterface. Surfaces that are more resistant to abrasive scratching reduce the potential for abrasive wear. Oxinium™ implants are dramatically more abrasion-resistant than cobalt chrome implants.
The ceramic is an enhanced surface that is part of the metal substrate rather than an external coating, making it very durable with unusual damage tolerance.
- Zirconium: a biocompatible metallic element in the same family as titanium.
- Zirconia: a ceramic compound, wear-resistant but brittle.
- Zr-2.5Nb: a metallic alloy of zirconium, with niobium and oxygen for increased strength.
Cement Pin-On-Disk Test, Hunter, et al.
Cement pins were rubbed against an Oxinium disk and a cobalt chrome disk for 10 million cycles in order to test resistance to abrasion.
- The wear track of the Oxinium™ disk was 640 times less deep than cobalt chrome.
- The Oxinium™ disk exhibited more than 4,900 times less volumetric wear.
- The Oxinium™ surface was more than 160 times smoother.
Quality Control for Oxinium™ Components
Extensive research and development indicated four critical control points to ensure a consistent quality product, as follows:
- Raw materials inspection
- Pre-oxidization surface preparation
- Oxidization process
- Post-oxidization surface burnishing All components undergo inspection to ensure that the ceramic oxide is uniform and the correct thickness. A non-destructive laser measurement technique provides a means for 100% quality assurance inspection of components.
All components undergo inspection to ensure that the ceramic oxide is uniform and the correct thickness. A non-destructive laser measurement technique provides a means for 100% quality assurance inspection of components.
