Transcutaneous electromagnetic induction heating of an intramedullary nickel-titanium shape memory implant.

PURPOSE: Inadequate mechanical stimuli are a major cause for nonunions following surgery for femoral and tibial shaft fractures. Adapting fixation rigidity during the course of fracture healing requires additional surgery. Nickel-titanium (NiTi) implants can change shape and rigidity by employing a temperature-dependent shape-memory effect. As a first step in the development of advanced intramedullary (IM) NiTi devices for fracture healing, this study aimed to test the feasibility and safety of transcutaneous electromagnetic induction heating of an IM NiTi implant in a rat model. METHODS: In 51 rats, NiTi implants were introduced into the left distal femur. Forty-four animals were transferred to an induction coil, and the implant was electromagnetically heated to temperatures between 40° and 60 °C Blood samples were drawn before and four hours after the procedure. Interleukin (IL)-1, IL-4, IL-10, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) were measured. Animals were sacrificed at three weeks. Histological specimens from the hind leg and liver were retrieved and examined for inflammatory changes, necrosis or corrosion pits. RESULTS: All animals successfully underwent the surgical procedure. Following transcutaneous induction heating, target temperature was confirmed in 37/44 rats. Postoperative controls showed no signs of undue limitations. Neither cytokine measurements nor histological specimens showed any significant differences between groups. There were no corrosion pits or necrosis. CONCLUSION: We conclude that electromagnetic induction heating of IM NiTi implants is feasible and safe in a rat femur model. These findings reflect a further step in the development of novel concepts for IM fracture fixation that might lead to better fracture healing, less patient discomfort and less need for surgical interventions.

Re-Melting Behaviour and Wear Resistance of Vanadium Carbide Precipitating Cr27.5Co14Fe22Mo22Ni11.65V2.85 High Entropy Alloy.

High entropy alloys (HEAs) are among of the most promising new metal material groups. The achievable properties can exceed those of common alloys in different ways. Due to the mixture of five or more alloying elements, the variety of high entropy alloys is fairly huge. The presented work will focus on some first insights on the weldability and the wear behavior of vanadium carbide precipitation Cr27.5Co14Fe22Mo22Ni11.65V2.85 HEA. The weldability should always be addressed in an early stage of any alloy design to avoid welding-related problems afterwards. The cast Cr27.5Co14Fe22Mo22Ni11.65V2.85 HEA has been remelted using a TIG welding process and the resulting microstructure has been examined. The changes in the microstructure due to the remelting process showed little influence of the welding process and no welding-related problems like hot cracks have been observed. It will be shown that vanadium carbides or vanadium-rich phases precipitate after casting and remelting in a two phased HEA matrix. The hardness of the as cast alloy is 324HV0.2 and after remelting the hardness rises to 339HV0.2. The wear behavior can be considered as comparable to a Stellite 6 cobalt base alloy as determined in an ASTM G75 test. Overall, the basic HEA design is promising due to the precipitation of vanadium carbides and should be further investigated.

A nickel-titanium shape memory alloy plate for contactless inverse dynamization after internal fixation in a sheep tibia fracture model: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Inverse dynamization has recently been proposed for the treatment of tibia non-unions. Nickel-titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloys (SMAs) may provide an opportunity for contactless non-invasive alteration of the stiffness of an implant after surgery. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this pilot study was to analyze the feasibility of the one way shape memory effect in a large animal as well as the feasibility of our ovine large animal fracture model. METHODS: A tibia osteotomy was performed in three sheep, followed by NiTi plate osteosynthesis in two cases and standard locking compression plate (LCP) osteosynthesis in one sheep. Contactless induction heating was performed after 3 weeks in order to alter the stiffness of the NiTi plates. Euthanasia was followed by biomechanical analysis after 8 weeks. RESULTS: Successful change of configuration through contactless induction heating was shown in both SMA plates by image intensifier control. Although large differences in bending and torsional stiffness were observed between the operated and contralateral tibia, the sheep ambulated almost normally at six weeks post-operative. CONCLUSION: We were able to trigger the one way shape memory effect which non-invasively altered the stiffness of the plate osteosynthesis.

A Novel Shape Memory Plate Osteosynthesis for Noninvasive Modulation of Fixation Stiffness in a Rabbit Tibia Osteotomy Model.

UNLABELLED: Nickel-titanium shape memory alloy (NiTi-SMA) implants might allow modulating fracture healing, changing their stiffness through alteration of both elastic modulus and cross-sectional shape by employing the shape memory effect (SME). HYPOTHESES: a novel NiTi-SMA plate stabilizes tibia osteotomies in rabbits. After noninvasive electromagnetic induction heating the alloy exhibits the SME and the plate changes towards higher stiffness (inverse dynamization) resulting in increased fixation stiffness and equal or better bony healing. In 14 rabbits, 1.0 mm tibia osteotomies were fixed with our experimental plate. Animals were randomised for control or induction heating at three weeks postoperatively. Repetitive X-ray imaging and in vivo measurements of bending stiffness were performed. After sacrifice at 8 weeks, macroscopic evaluation, µCT, and post mortem bending tests of the tibiae were carried out. One death and one early implant dislocation occurred. Following electromagnetic induction heating, radiographic and macroscopic changes of the implant proved successful SME activation. All osteotomies healed. In the treatment group, bending stiffness increased over time. Differences between groups were not significant. In conclusion, we demonstrated successful healing of rabbit tibia osteotomies using our novel NiTi-SMA plate. We demonstrated shape-changing SME in-vivo through transcutaneous electromagnetic induction heating. Thus, future orthopaedic implants could be modified without additional surgery.

Noninvasive induction implant heating: an approach for contactless altering of mechanical properties of shape memory implants.

This article shows an approach to change the properties of an orthopaedic shape memory implant within biological tissue, using contactless induction heating. Due to inducing the one way-memory effect, triggered by the rise of temperature within the implant, the geometry and hence the mechanical properties of the implant itself, are altered. The power uptake of the implant, depending on the induction parameters as well as on its position within the induction coil, is shown. Thermographic measurements are carried out in order to determine the surface temperature distribution of the implant. In order to simulate biological tissue, the implant was embedded in agarose gel. Suitable heating parameters, in terms of a short heating process in combination with a reduced heat impact on the surrounding environment, were determined.