Deutsch
English
Project manager: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Lothar Wagner
Funding agency: BMBF, KMU-Innovativ
Funding code: 13GW0020C
Funding period: 3 years
Contact: Dipl.-Ing. Ulrich Raab and Dipl.-Ing. Christian Teichmann
Despite the great success of current arthroplasty, there is an urgent need for technological improvement due to the limited service life of prostheses, demographic change with increasing life expectancy and primary use in younger patients. Important goals here would be optimized ingrowth behaviour, a reduction in the number of aseptic loosenings, strategies to avoid allergic reactions to implant materials and cost-efficient production - including of individual implants. The aim of this project is therefore to clarify whether it is technologically possible to produce a knee joint from the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V in a modification alloyed for surgical implants by centrifugal casting. Subsequent site-specific surface treatments on both the articulation surface and the surface facing the bone should also lead to improved osteointegration and a longer service life.
In the joint project "Osteofit", a market-ready medical product is to be developed in 3 years. The project consortium covers the value chain from the development of casting technology and animal testing to the production and testing of knee implants. The project consortium includes the companies Peter-Brehm Chirurgie-Mechanik e.K., MedTitan and Medimet as well as Access e.V., the University of Ulm and Clausthal University of Technology. The work planned at the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering (IWW) is being funded with over EUR 600,000 and includes the optimization of the cast structure through heat treatment, the treatment of the articulating surfaces and the mechanical testing of the cast knee joints.
