The Divergence of Wear Propagation and Stress at Steep Acetabular Cup Positions Using Ceramic Heads and Sequentially Cross-Linked Polyethylene Liners

The aim of the present wear simulator study was to assess the effect of steep acetabular cup positions on the wear propagation of highly cross-linked-PE (HX-PE) liners. Furthermore, a finite element analysis (FEA) was performed in order to calculate the stress within the HX-PE material in case of steep cup positions under physiological loadings. The higher stress in the HX-PE at a steep acetabular cup position did not result in increased wear in the present wear simulator study. The gravimetrical wear rates at normal (45°) and steep cup inclinations (75°) showed wear amounts of 3.15 ± 0.27 mg and 2.18 ± 0.31 mg per million cycles (p = 0.028), respectively. However, FEA revealed clear increase in stress at the HX-PE liners with respect to steep cup positions.