There is a need for standardization of radiostereometric (RSA) investigations to facilitate comparison of outcome reported from different research groups. In this document, 6 research centers have agreed upon standards for terminology, description and use of RSA arrangement including radiographic set-up and techniques. Consensus regarding minimum requirements for marker stability and scatter, choice of coordinate systems, and preferred way of describing prosthetic micromotion is of special interest. Some notes on data interpretation are also presented. Validation of RSA should be standardized by preparation of protocols for assessment of accuracy and precision. Practical issues related to loading of the joint by weight bearing or other conditions, follow-up intervals, length of follow-up, radiation dose, and the exclusion of patients due to technical errors are considered. Finally, we present a checklist of standardized output that should be included in any clinical RSA paper. This document will form the basis of a detailed standardization protocol under supervision of ISO and the European Standards Working Group on Joint Replacement Implants (CEN/TC 285/WG4). This protocol will facilitate inclusion of RSA in a standard protocol for implant testing before it is released for general use. Such a protocol-also including other recognized clinical outcome parameters-will reduce the risk of implanting potentially inferior prostheses on a large scale. Copyright© Taylor & Francis 2005.

Twenty-nine patients (five women and 24 men) with an average age of 47 years (range, 24-59 years) had 37 total hip arthroplasties using a hydroxyapatite-coated double-wedge press-fit femoral component. All patients had a Type A bone quality. Patients were either mobilized with weightbearing as tolerated or toe-touch weightbearing for 6 weeks postoperatively. After 6 weeks all patients were advanced to weightbearing as tolerated. Radiostereometric analysis radiographs were taken at 3 days, 6 weeks, and 6 months postoperatively to measure migration of the femoral component. Radiostereometric analysis revealed no difference in stem migration between the two groups as defined by maximal total point migration. There was a difference in the vertical (proximal-distal) migration within the first 6 weeks between groups (0.81 mm versus 0.13 mm), but not afterwards (0.17 mm versus 0.18 mm). Continuous migration after 6 weeks was observed in three patients from each group. There was no loosening in either group within a 2-year followup. Weightbearing as tolerated is recommended for young patients with excellent bone quality after cementless total hip arthroplasty with a double-wedge press-fit femoral component. Level of Evidence: Diagnostic study, Level I (testing of previously developed diagnostic criteria in series of consecutive patients-with previously applied reference gold standard). See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Mechanical interlock obtained by penetration of bone cement into cancellous bone is critical to the success of cemented total hip replacement (THR). Although acetabular component loosening is an important mode of THR failure, the properties of acetabular cancellous bone relevant to cement penetration are not well characterized. Bone biopsies (9 mm diameter, 10 mm long) were taken from the articular surfaces of the acetabulum and femoral head during total hip replacement. After mechanical and chemical defatting the two groups of bone specimens were characterized using flow measurement, mechanical testing and finally serial sectioning and three-dimensional computer reconstruction. The mean permeabilities of the acetabular group (1.064 × 10-10 m2) and femoral group (1.155 × 10-10 m2) were calculated from the flow measurements, which used saline solution and a static pressure of 9.8 kPa. The mean Young's modulus, measured non-destructively, was 47.4 MPa for the femoral group and 116.4 MPa for the acetabular group. Three-dimensional computer reconstruction of the specimens showed no significant differences in connectivity and porosity between the groups. Results obtained using femoral head cancellous bone to investigate bone cement penetration and fixation are directly relevant to fixation in the acetabulum. © IMechE 2004.

The interface between bone and artificial-joint implants consists of soft tissue. This tissue varies from fibrocartilage to loose fibrous tissue. Tissues that resemble those can be found in normal joints. Sixteen knees with unicompartmental knee prostheses, revised because of excessive wear of the tibial insert, were studied. Synovium, synovial fluid, cartilage, and bone from the nonreplaced compartment were studied with light microscopy. We found wear particles and reactions to those in all tissues except cartilage. In the subchondral bone, we found osteolytic-like processes undermining the cartilage peripherally. Our conclusion from these findings is that the histologic composition of the bone-implant interface might be an important factor regarding the reaction of the tissue to wear particles and, thus, component fixation. © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

During total hip arthroplasty, the intraoperative cementation pressure was measured inside one of the acetabular anchorage holes. Patients were randomized to pressurization of cement with either a conventional pressurizer or a sequential method including individual pressurization of each anchorage hole. The pressure was correlated to the cement penetration measured on digital radiographs. The early peak pressures were higher for the sequential method, resulting in a significantly better penetration of 2.8 mm compared with 0.7 mm with the conventional pressurizer. We found a strong correlation between early peak cementation pressures and cement penetration into the cancellous bone of the anchoring holes, indicating a cause-effect relationship at this early stage. The highest peak pressures were achieved during the later cup insertion, but these pressures did not correlate with the cement penetration. We conclude that conventional methods for cement pressurization in the acetabulum may not be optimal. © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Background: The shear properties of rigid polyurethane (PU-R) foams, routinely used to simulate cancellous bone, are not well characterized. Method of approach: The present assessment of the shear and compressive properties of four grades of Sawbones "Rigid cellular" PU-R foam tested 20 mm gauge diameter dumb-bell specimens in torsion and under axial loading. Results: Shear moduli ranged from 13.3 to 99.7 MPa, shear strengths from 0.7 MPa to 4.2 MPa. Compressive yield strains varied little with density while shear yield strains had peak values with "200 kgm-3" grade. Conclusions: PU-R foams may be used to simulate the elastic but not failure properties of cancellous bone.

High-tech development within prosthetics for lower limb amputees can benefit from high-tech methods to study the socket fit. Roentgen stereophotogrammetry is one such method with high resolution to study stability with point motion and segment motion simultaneously to show how well bonded the socket is to the stump. It has been used to follow results of total joint replacement concerning loosening and wear of components. In this study, one transtibial amputee was examined with tantalum bone markers implanted through skin and also glued into the hard socket. Four different prosthetic suspensions were used, and we simulated four different gait cycle positions and recorded the micromotions between the tibial bone segment and the hard socket three-dimensionally. The vertical motion varied 10 to 30 mm and the AP motion 0 to 15 mm. For the first time, we could measure rotation of the socket on the stump about a vertical axis. The rotation in the transversal plane was 7.5 outward. Airtight sleeve with expulsion valve gave the best stability.

We present a new approach for the accurate reconstruction of three-dimensional skeletal positions using roentgen single-plane photogrammetric analysis (RSPA). This technique uses a minimum of three markers embedded in each segment which allow continuous, real-time, internal skeletal movement to be measured from single-plane images, provided that the precise distance between the markers is known. A simulation study indicated that the error propagation in this approach is influenced by focus position, object position, the number of control points, the accuracy of the previous measurement of the distance between markers and the accuracy of image measurement. For reconstruction of normal movement of the knee with an input measurement error Of SD = 0.02 mm, the rotational and translational differences between reconstructed and original movement were less than 0.27degrees and 0.9 mm, respectively. Our results showed that the accuracy of RSPA is sufficient for the analysis of most movement of joints. This approach can be applied in combination with force measurements for dynamic studies of the musculoskeletal system.

The problem of determining the noise level in any measuring system remains urgent. Radiostereometric analysis (RSA) is a radiographic system of unique accuracy which has applications in areas where minute motions or no motion at all occurs. Examples are micromotion between endoprostheses and bone and in fracture healing.

We have determined the accuracy of the RSA system as applied to a clinical series of spinal fusions, where the conditions for RSA were not optimal. Using the usual test-retest methodology on a phantom, we showed that its accuracy can be grossly overestimated in the individual case.

We found considerable variations in the accuracy in the individual case, depending on the rigid-body configuration. The overall accuracy, expressed as 3-D "vectors" for rotation and translation, respectively, correlated with the condition number, a method for characterizing the marker configuration. Indeed, the condition number explained as much as 92% of the variation in overall rotation. This condition number, however, cannot be used to analyze the accuracy of one degree of freedom of rotation alone. Mathematical simulation of the accuracy in the individual case of the individual dimension, using in-house software, showed that the accuracy (95% confidence) varied between 0.4 and 4.6 degrees of rotation about the transverse axis, corresponding to a clinical stress series of extension and flexion.