Efeito da geometria e da rigidez do projeto da prótese de quadril no estímulo ao remodelamento ósseo

Abstract

The stress shielding phenomenon, resulting from the large difference between materials usually employed in prosthesis and the femur Young modulus, promotes significant bone mineral density loss, which originates several complications after hip arthroplasty. In this work, cervical-diaphisary angle and stem length influence over the mechanical stimulus for the bone remodelling, besides the effect of the low modulus alloy adoption, were evaluated by numerical simulation using the finite element method. In order to validate the computational model, a circular polariscope bending test was proposed, aming to photoelastic stress analysis. Results obtained on numerical simulation and on tests with optical monitoring seem to be both well enough confluent. It can be said that stem length reduction caused considerable increase in load transfer to femur, while cervical-diaphisary angle reduction did not produce so relevant effect. The employment of a low modulus stem, on the other side, really provided the elevation of load transfer to femur on higher levels than it has been achieved by the redesign of prosthesis geometrical features. It is understood that the combination of numerical simulation and photoelastic stress analysis may clearly contribute on an improvement of hip prosthesis design and registration process at ANVISA.