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Guidance Document For Testing Acetabular Cup Prostheses

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This guidance was written prior to the February 27, 1997 implementation of FDA's Good Guidance Practices, GGP's. It does not create or confer rights for or on any person and does not operate to bind FDA or the public. An alternative approach may be used if such approach satisfies the requirements of the applicable statute, regulations, or both. This guidance will be updated in the next revision to include the standard elements of GGP's.

 



D R A F T



May 1, 1995



PLEASE FORWARD YOUR COMMENTS TO:

Orthopedic Devices Branch

Division of General and Restorative Devices
Center for Devices and Radiological Health
U.S. Food and Drug Administration

9200 Corporate Blvd.
Rockville, MD 20850

301-594-2036


CONTENTS AND SUMMARY OF TEST METHODS AND REPORTING

PREFACE

MATERIALS AND DESIGN DESCRIPTION

EVALUATION OF SURFACE TREATMENTS

EVALUATION OF CALCIUM PHOSPHATE (Ca-P) COATINGS

KINEMATICS (range of motion)

STRESS ANALYSIS

ATTACHMENT LOADS

FATIGUE PROPERTIES

CYCLIC WEAR, DEGRADATION AND CORROSION

REPORTING

APPENDICES


PREFACE

The purpose of this document is to recommend to the device manufacturer or sponsor of premarket notifications (510(k)), Investigational Device Exemption (IDE), Premarket Approval (PMA), reclassification petition, or master file important information that should be submitted to FDA in order for FDA to determine the substantial equivalence and/or safety and effectiveness of acetabular cup protheses. This information includes important issues and concerns, properties that should be evaluated, summaries of possible test methods, rationale/purpose of each test, pass/fail criteria or typical results for each test, literature citations, and a format for organizing data for submission to FDA.

The development of this guidance document is based on an evaluation of the literature and on the experience of the Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Devices Branch (ORDB) and is primarily intended to be a scientific position paper. Therefore, it suggests some important evaluation criteria, test procedures, and end points that FDA feels are necessary to provide reasonable assurance of substantial equivalence and/or safety and effectiveness of acetabular cup prostheses. Although this guidance document contains certain administrative requirements, it does not replace the requirements of the 21 CFR 801 or 807 or the statue.

FDA may require information in addition to what is contained in this document if circumstances require it. In other instances, the sponsor may be able to sufficiently justify the omission of some tests. Suggestions and recommendations presented in this document are not mandatory requirements, but reflect data and methodologies which ORDB has determined to be acceptable. Therefore, the words "should", "must" and "shall" are not used in a regulatory sense and should not be construed as such. They express FDA's current feeling as to what constitutes good scientific decision making.

The guidance document should be viewed as a living document. As scientific knowledge changes and scientific techniques are improved, FDA will revise the document. Nonetheless, the basic objectives will remain the same.

MATERIALS AND DESIGN DESCRIPTION

Each part of each component of the total hip system should be listed along with the following information:

  1. the name of the component and each its parts;
  2. a description of the function of each major design feature (examples are given in APPENDIX 1: PARTS/COMPONENTS AND THEIR MAJOR DESIGN FEATURES);
  3. the names of all other components and tissues that are expected to contact the component and the type of interface (i.e., articulating, fixed mating part, coating, tissue fixation);
  4. the material composition of each component to include:
    1. the document number of any previous submission to FDA or other reference which fully characterized the material (e.g., a master file, 510k, literature article);
    2. a brief description of the material or the name and number of the voluntary standards that applies to the material (any difference in the final product and the requirements in the referenced standard must be itemized and justified);
    3. any trade names for the materials; and
    4. the names of establishments which process the material.

  5. the major processing methods which determine the material microstructure and hence, its properties; and
  6. details about the design (e.g., engineering drawings, model numbers, sizes, photographs) which should include the ball and liner design tolerances and manufacturing variability for interfaces. For example, this might include the following for the articulating interface:
    1. diameters and head-cup clearance;
    2. sphericity;
    3. roughness; and
    4. waviness.

The thinnest part of any UHMWPE articulating insert must be greater than 4 mm if attached to a metal or ceramic backing (conforming insert) and greater than 6 mm if there is no backing (nonconforming insert) (Bartel, D.L.; Burstein, A.H.; Toda, M.D.; Edwards, D.L.: 'The Effect of Conformity and Plastic Thickness on Contact Stresses in Metal-Backed Plastic Implants'. J. Biomech. Engr., 107, pp. 193-9, Aug., 1985).

EVALUATION OF SURFACE TREATMENTS/COATINGS

See the "Guidance Document for Testing Orthopedic Implants with Modified Metallic Surfaces Apposing Bone or Bone Cement".

EVALUATION OF CALCIUM PHOSPHATE (Ca-P) COATINGS

See the "Calcium Phosphate (Ca-P) Coatings Draft Guidance for Preparation of FDA Submissions for Orthopedic and Dental Endosseous Implants".

KINEMATICS

The range of motion of the ball-acetabular cup combination and of the metal shell and polymer insert (bipolar device) should be reported.

STRESS ANALYSIS

High stresses leading to deformation, fracture or increased wear of the components may be due to:

  1. poor tolerances (e.g., too large or too small a ball-cup clearance or a too tight press fit connection);
  2. inadequate instructions for attachment (e.g., excessive use of force);
  3. local stress risers (e.g., corners);
  4. thermal expansion of parts during sterilization; and
  5. thin cross-sections.

These parameters may be evaluated in a stress analysis with mechanical testing to justify assumptions made in the analysis.

ATTACHMENT LOADS

The following loads should be determined:

  1. assembly by the surgeon (minimum and maximum recommended loads),
  2. disassembly by the surgeon,
  3. inadvertent disassembly in the patient,
  4. any possible relationship between loosening and assembly loads.

Inadvertent disassembly may be evaluated by tensile, torsional or cantilever loading before and after cyclic testing (see below). Tensile loading is simple and the results easy to interpret. For example, an insert is either pulled or pushed along the axis of the cup till failure of the locking mechanism, a load exceeding a safety factor is reached, the disengagement force becomes negligible or assembly becomes difficult (see ASTM draft Standard Test Method for Static Evaluation of Liner Locking Mechanism - Push Out Test).

Torsional loading is the most clinically relevant loading configuration at cup interfaces. The torque due to friction at the ball-liner interface is about 2.4 N-meters. The locking mechanism should exceed this by some safety factor (e.g., 12 N-meter (105 in-lb) for a safety factor of five (Semlitsch, M.; et al. 1977)).

Loosening may also be determined by measuring relative displacement between parts every 10,000 cycles of cyclic loading. An LVDT can measure the displacement while an axial compression load of 50 lbf and a torsional fatigue of +- 22 in-lbf are applied.

FATIGUE PROPERTIES

Cyclic fatigue testing should be considered for an acetabular cup which has the same design as a predicate cup except for differences in features which may affect the fatigue life. Whether evaluated separately or in a single test, the corrosion and fatigue properties of the device assembly and wear properties of both the articulating and non-articulating (mechanically locked) interfaces should be examined in any test performed, where possible.

CYCLIC WEAR, DEGRADATION AND CORROSION

Cyclic testing should be considered for an acetabular cup which has the same design as a predicate cup except for differences in features which may affect loosening, cracking, deformation, corrosion, degradation and wear at interfaces. To simulate actual clinical wear mechanisms for both articulating and non-articulating (mechanically locked) interfaces as much as possible, the following test method and measurement parameters should be considered:

TEST METHODS FOR ALL INTERFACES

METHODS FOR TESTING FRETTING AND/OR CORROSION/DEGRADATION BETWEEN NON-ARTICULATING, "MECHANICALLY LOCKED," MODULAR IMPLANT COMPONENTS"

METHODS FOR TESTING ARTICULATING SURFACES

MEASUREMENTS FOR ALL INTERFACES

REPORTING

Test reports which omit information, or are not organized the same way by each investigator, makes FDA's review more difficult and delays determinations of substantial equivalence and/or safety and effectiveness. To facilitate FDA's review, detailed reports should include the information which is organized and subdivided into separate sections (some sections may be combined to enhance clarification) as outlined in Appendix 2.

APPENDIX 1: PARTS/COMPONENTS AND THEIR MAJOR DESIGN FEATURES

MODULAR PARTS/COMPONENTS MAJOR DESIGN FEATURES


ACETABULAR CUP


    BACKING


SCREW HOLE
DOME HOLE
    ARTICULATING INSERT


SUBLUXATION LIP (DEGREES)
BC FLANGE
ECCENTRICITY (OFFSET)
CONSTRAINT
    CAPTURED BALL
    FULLY-CONSTRAINED
    NONCONSTRAINED
    SEMI-CONSTRAINED

    LINER

    LOCKING RING

    RADIOPAQUE MARKER

    CEMENT SPACER



BALL (HEAD) PARTS

    BORE INSER

    BIPOLAR INSERT





FEMORAL COMPONENT
    STEM
    CENTRALIZER
    BONE CEMENT PLUG
    EXTENDER
    SHAFT







    COLLAR
GENERAL:
    CROSS-SECTION: ROUND/OVAL
    HANDEDNESS: LEFT/RIGHT
    STRAIGHT OR CURVED
    TAPERED
DISTAL:
COLLAR FLUTED
SLOT (CLOTHS PIN)
PROXIMAL:
    EXTRACTION HOLE
    FENESTRATION
    SLEEVE
    CEMENT SPACER
    OTHER



SPECIFIC STYLE (SEE ASTM F 370)

FIXATION MECHANISMS:
COMPONENT-TO-TISSUE & COMPONENT-TO-COMPONENT
    ADHESIVE
    BOLT OR SET SCREW
    BONE SCREW
      CORTICAL
      CANCELLOUS

    COATING
CALCIUM PHOSPHATE CERAMIC
METAL
    PLASMA SPRAYED
    POROUS SINTERED
NORMALIZED
ROUGHENED
SMOOTH
TEXTURED
MORSE TAPER
WELDED
    SURFACE
    OTHER
      BONE CEMENT
      PEG OR PIN

APPENDIX 2: TEST REPORT CONTENT

Detailed reports should be organized and subdivided into separate sections (some sections may be combined to enhance clarification) having the following headings (if applicable):

  1. Report title
  2. Investigators' names
  3. Facility Performing the test
  4. Dates
  5. Objectives/Hypothesis
  6. Test and control samples
  7. Methods and Materials
  8. Results
  9. Appendices

ASTM draft Standard Test Method for Static Evaluation of Liner Locking Mechanism - Push Out Test

ION MEASUREMENTS

AAS (atomic absorption spectroscopy) is a method used to record the total metal content in a solution containing particles obtained from wear testing. However Margevicius, R.W.; et al. 1989 reported that in vitro corrosion is better measured by weight loss with a microbalance rather than by AAS. Weight loss records 1.5 to 3 times more than by AAS because:

  1. particles remaining attached to the test specimen surface when removed from the solution, and
  2. AAS is unable to detect particulate or oxidized metal which are not dissolved by acid.

On the other hand, Kovacs, P.; et al. 1992 found a correlation between solution metal ion concentration and weight loss due to controlled fretting of various metals against themselves. The metals included Ti-6Al-4V, CoCrMo and SS. Despite various parameters which affect fretting volume, simply monitoring ion concentration was a better way of measuring fretting volume than weight loss Weight loss underestimated fretting, it was not sensitive enough for assessing implant fretting and the test must be interrupted to make measurements.

FRETTING

Crevice corrosion requires diffusion so motion of the environment due to shaking or stirring may delay crevice corrosion (Kruger, J. 1979).

Attia, M.H. 1989 reviewed fretting fatigue test methods.

Fretting results in greater wear because wear debris are retained within the contact zone (Merklenberg, K.R.; Benzing, R.J. 1976).

Merritt, M.; Brown, S.A. 1988 Fretting corrosion of SS is lowered by the addition of protein to the solution due to its lubricating effect. Under static conditions, protein has been reported to cause both an increase. R.L.; Brown, et al. and a decrease in corrosion. Williams, R.L.; Brown, S.A.; Merritt, M. Protein had no effect on Ti-6Al-4V corrosion under static or fretting conditions.

Bundy, K.; et al. 1993 Disinfectants are more corrosive than Ringers solution, though not enough to cause artifacts in the assessment of corrosion attack.

Montague, A.C.; Merritt, K.; Brown, S.A.; Payer, J.H. Because Ca increases fretting corrosion of Ti-6Al-4V, the test solution Ca concentration should be specified. This effect varies with solution composition due to its effects on solubility and dissociation of Ca compounds. The fretting corrosion of Ti-6Al-4V near a site of inflammation may be significantly increased due to the presence of H2O2 there.

Buckley, C.A.; Gilbert, J.L. 1994 cyclically loaded CoCrMo (F75) balls on trunions made of either the same material or Ti-6Al-4V. The open circuit potential (OCP), fretting currents and pH of the saline solution within the crevice were measured. The fretting current decreased with the number of cycles until leveling out at around 300,000 cycles. The OCP recovered toward its resting potential even during loading. The pH at the interface was inconsistent.

Gilbert, J.L. reported that fretting currents began at load levels of about 200-300 N. This current could affect the oxide coating by affecting the potential. Clorine increased 200% which caused a decrease in pH in the head-neck region,. Scratching the surface caused a huge increase in current density. The fretting current decreased with time, possibly due to seating of the head on the neck.

Flemming, C.A.C.; et al. 1993 evaluated the effect of bore-neck angle mismatches of 6'25" and 3'8" on corrosion current during cyclic loading in 0.9% saline. A Ti-6Al-4V stem and F 799 CoCr head were used. The rest current for both samples was 20 nA. The minimum or critical load necessary to begin fretting for large and small mismatches was 100 and 250 N respectively. The current caused by the stick-slip fretting action depended on the load (in the 25-125 range) applied to the bore-cone with a large mismatch. (e.g., 31 nA at 25 N and 142 nA at 125 N). The current was a constant 50 nA for all loads between 25 and 125 N for the small mismatched bore-cone. During high cycle loading, the current for both types of mismatched specimens was about the same (13-14 uA).

Smith, B.J.; Ducheyne, P. 1994 after an initial anodic drop due to fretting-induced damage, the potential remains steady reflecting continuing damage to the surface. After about 10,000 cycles, a transition in the potential versus cycles plot occurs in which the potential decreases to smaller values, reflected a much lower rate of surface damage. The less severe wear, which prevailed for the rest of the experiment, may be caused by the accumulation of wear debris between the oposing surfaces. The flow properties of the fluid and particles protect the surfaces by thick film lubrication. The particles accumulate into a film because the:

Crevice corrosion requires diffusion so motion of the environment due to shaking or stirring may delay crevice corrosion (Kruger, J. 1979).

 

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