FIRM OFFERS NEW COATING FOR THR (Orthopedics This Week)
An Israeli company is tackling a long-term problem faced by patients who receive a total hip replacement (THR). The company is M.M.A. Tech Ltd and the problem is that the wear created by the articulating components of an artificial hip joint can lead to complications including inflammation around the implant, pain and revision surgery after 10 to 15 years.
If the implant is made of metal, metal ions and debris from wear have, in some patients, been absorbed into tissues and the bloodstream. Not good. The search has been on for years to find more durable and inert materials with which to coat the parts of the hip replacement device.
M.M.A. Tech has developed a component made of polyimide material (MP1) that it says was first developed for the aerospace industry. The company claims that its product “combines unusual toughness, self-lubrication, and excellent friction and wear durability, resistance to fatigue, creep and impact and provides a longer lifespan of articulating implanted components.”
The company has conducted pilot studies in New Zealand. These, officials report, have involved 28 cases with one year’s successful foll...
