Joint replacement is a very successful medical treatment. However, the survivorship of hip, knee, shoulder, and other implants is limited. The degradation of materials and the immune response against degradation products or an altered tissue loading condition as well as infections remain key factors of their failure. Current research in biomechanics and biomaterials is trying to overcome these existing limitations. This includes new implant designs and materials, bearings concepts and tribology, kinematical concepts, surgical techniques, and anti-inflammatory and infection prevention strategies. A careful evaluation of new materials and concepts is required in order to fully assess the strengths and weaknesses and to improve the quality and outcomes of joint replacements. Therefore, extensive research and clinical trials are essential. The main aspects that are addressed in this Special Issue are related to new material, design and manufacturing considerations of implants, implant wear and its potential clinical consequence, implant fixation, infection-related material aspects, and taper-related research topics. This Special Issue gives an overview of the ongoing research in those fields. The contributions were solicited from researchers working in the fields of biomechanics, biomaterials, and bio- and tissue-engineering.

This open access book describes and illustrates the surgical techniques, implants, and technologies used for the purpose of personalized implantation of hip and knee components. This new and flourishing treatment philosophy offers important benefits over conventional systematic techniques, including component positioning appropriate to individual anatomy, improved surgical reproducibility and prosthetic performance, and a reduction in complications. The techniques described in the book aim to reproduce patients’ native anatomy and physiological joint laxity, thereby improving the prosthetic hip/knee kinematics and functional outcomes in the quest of the forgotten joint. They include kinematically aligned total knee/total hip arthroplasty, partial knee replacement, and hip resurfacing. The relevance of available and emerging technological tools for these personalized approaches is also explained, with coverage of, for example, robotics, computer-assisted surgery, and augmented reality. Contributions from surgeons who are considered world leaders in diverse fields of this novel surgical philosophy make this open access book will invaluable to a wide readership, from trainees at all levels to consultants practicing lower limb surgery

This volume is the arranged monograph based on the Hip Biomechanics Symposium held on November 1992 in Fukui, Japan. It consists of six major sections: loading, gait analysis, total hip arthroplasty, osteotomies, motion analysis, and stem designs for stability. The most important aim of the volume is to overview the current research outcomes in the biomechanical approaches to adult hip diseases. Each of these sections brings together many of the leading researchers in this field. The information found here will be of benefit to orthopedic surgeons and researchers in the related areas.

This text provides the basis of information on the biomechanics of joints and joint replacement for those engineers who are increasingly called upon to co-operate with the medical profession, as well as medical personnel.

Joint replacement is a very successful medical treatment. However, the survivorship of hip, knee, shoulder, and other implants is limited. The degradation of materials and the immune response against degradation products or an altered tissue loading condition as well as infections remain key factors of their failure. Current research in biomechanics and biomaterials is trying to overcome these existing limitations. This includes new implant designs and materials, bearings concepts and tribology, kinematical concepts, surgical techniques, and anti-inflammatory and infection prevention strategies. A careful evaluation of new materials and concepts is required in order to fully assess the strengths and weaknesses and to improve the quality and outcomes of joint replacements. Therefore, extensive research and clinical trials are essential. The main aspects that are addressed in this Special Issue are related to new material, design and manufacturing considerations of implants, implant wear and its potential clinical consequence, implant fixation, infection-related material aspects, and taper-related research topics. This Special Issue gives an overview of the ongoing research in those fields. The contributions were solicited from researchers working in the fields of biomechanics, biomaterials, and bio- and tissue-engineering.

A major part of orthopedics is the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases caused by structural disorders and mechanical breakdown of living tissue. Therefore, biomechanical consideration of static structures and dynamic mechanisms is compulsory for both diagnosis and treatment of orthopedic diseases. Previous biomechanical studies have enabled great advances in orthopedic implant technology, such as artificial joint replacement and instrumentation for spinal fusion. Consequently the importance of biomechanics is increasing more and more in daily clinical practice and development. In addition, biomaterial research into mechanical properties and tissue reactions of implant materials is certainly an important area of related study. This book is comprised of 22 papers presented at the International Seminar on Biomechanics in Orthopedics and the 17th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Orthopedic Biomechanics, held in Nagoya in 1990. The volume contains full descriptions of both conventional and updated knowledge of the spine, ligaments, artificial joint replacement in the hip and knee, fracture treatment, and gait analysis, as well as biomaterials. I earnestly hope that this book will be of benefit to readers in daily clinical work and research. To close, I would like to thank profoundly the two coeditors, Prof. S.M. Perren and Mr. T. Hattori, and also a quiet supporter Mrs. J. Buchanan in Davos, for their cooperation in producing this book.