Performance Assessment of Biocompatible Metals Used in the Treatment of Femoral Neck Fractures

Abstract

Femoral neck fractures (FNFs) are among the most common types of hip fractures. Particularly in young patients, these fractures require adequate fixation. These fractures, which are prevalent in elderly patients, are usually treated with implant applications. In implant applications, it is possible to find many different fixation configurations with various implant materials. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of metallic implant materials on fixation performance in the application of cannulated screws in an inverted triangle (CSIT), which are most preferred by orthopedic surgeons. Therefore, a femur bone with a type 2 fracture was numerically modeled and performances of CSIT implants with different biocompatible metals were investigated over nonlinear finite-element analyses (FEA). Within the study, stainless steel (SS), pure titanium (pTi), titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V), cobalt-chromium alloy (Co - Cr), and magnesium alloy (WE43) materials, frequently used as biocompatible implant materials, were taken into consideration and their performances were evaluated under static, vibration, and fatigue analyses. Throughout the comparison of analysis results and an optimality indicator formula, the optimum material was found to be the Co-Cr alloy on the basis of considered performance characteristics.