Product Overview
Paired with Renovis E-MAX Highly Crosslinked Polyethylene for a complete bearing solution, engineered for long-term performance. (http://www.renovis-surgical.com/)
What is BIOLOX® delta?
BIOLOX delta is zirconia-toughened alumina ceramic†. This nanocomposite was engineered to provide the well-known advantages of previous generation alumina ceramics with the addition of improved fracture toughness.
BIOLOX delta Ceramic Heads Features and Benefits
Better Wear Properties than CoCr
Compared to cobalt-chromium (CoCr) femoral heads, BIOLOX delta femoral heads offer:
• Smoother surface finish
• Harder surface
• Improved wettability
A smoother surface results in less friction—and typically less wear—during articulation. A harder material better resists surface scratching, maintaining the smooth surface over time. The hydrophilic ceramic surface helps provide excellent lubrication. This improved wettabilty translates to lower friction than CoCr when articulating with polyethylene.
The Advantage of Scratch-Resistance
Highly crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) can be particularly sensitive to roughened CoCr femoral heads, which result in significantly increased wear in simulator studies. Similarly, in the presence of third-body particles, the CoCr-XLPE pairing results in increasing wear over time, but the use of a ceramic head prevents runaway wear. This effect of surface roughness is further exacerbated when combined with microseparation.
50% Less Wear
Simulator studies have demonstrated 40-50% less wear for ceramic-on-XLPE compared to CoCr-on-XLPE. This wear reduction is consistent with the results of a clinical comparison of conventional polyethylene articulating with ceramic and CoCr heads, which found 50% less wear with ceramic heads at an average 7 year follow-up.
More “Forgiving” than Hard-on-Hard Bearings
Other low-wear options such as metal-on-metal and ceramic-on-ceramic are especially sensitive to component placement and damage caused by subluxation. Also, microseparation simulator conditions, which induce accelerated wear in metal-on-metal and ceramic-on-ceramic bearings, do not result in increased wear in ceramic-on-XLPE.
Biocompatibility
BIOLOX delta is chemically stable and biologically inert. Thus, ceramic-on-XLPE can provide extremely low wear rates—comparable to metal-on-metal bearings—but without the associated metal ion release.
Stability with large diameter heads
Larger diameter heads have been shown to lead to improved range of motion and lower dislocation rates. The Renovis A450 Acetabular Cup System and Tesera Trabecular Technology Acetabular Cup System are available with BIOLOX delta heads up to 40 mm in diameter.
