A new interface element with progressive damage and osseointegration for modeling of interfaces in hip resurfacing

Finite element models of orthopedic implants such as hip resurfacing femoral components usually rely on contact elements to model the load-bearing interfaces that connect bone, cement and implant. However, contact elements cannot simulate progressive degradation of bone–cement interfaces or osseointegration. A new interface element is developed to alleviate these shortcomings. This element is capable of simulating the nonlinear progression of bone–cement interface debonding or bone–implant interface osseointegration, based on mechanical stimuli in normal and tangential directions. The new element is applied to a hip resurfacing femoral component with a stem made of a novel biomimetic composite material. Three load cases are applied sequentially to simulate the 6-month period required for osseointegration of the stem. The effect of interdigitation depth of the bone–cement interface is found to be negligible, with only minor variations of micromotions. Numerical results show that the biomimetic stem progressively osseointegrates (α averages 0.7 on the stem surface, with spot-welds) and that bone–stem micromotions decrease below 10 µm. Osseointegration also changes the load path within the femoral bone: a decrease of 300 µε was observed in the femoral head, and the inferomedial part of the femoral neck showed a slight increase of 165 µε. There was also increased stress in the implant stem (from 7 to 11 MPa after osseointegration), indicating that part of the load is supported through the stem. The use of the new osseointegratable interface element has shown the osseointegration potential of the biomimetic stem. Its ability to model partially osseointegrated interfaces based on the mechanical conditions at the interface means that the new element could be used to study load transfer and osseointegration patterns on other models of uncemented hip resurfacing femoral components.