2014 conference paper

Determining optimal current intensity and duration for electrically activated silver-based prophylactic hip implant prototype design

Proceedings of the ASME Summer Bioengineering Conference - 2013, pt B.

By: Z. Tan n, R. Shirwaiker n  & P. Orndoff n

co-author countries: United States of America πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ
Source: NC State University Libraries
Added: August 6, 2018

Infections associated with medical prostheses result in notable morbidity, and traditional osteomyelitis treatments are often accompanied by high risk and cost. The probability of prosthetic joint infections is 1–2.5 % for primary hip or knee replacements and 2.1–5.8 % for revision surgeries, and the cost of treating such an infection is estimated to be over $50,000 per episode. [1] While the potential benefits of silver surfaces stimulated by low intensity direct current (LIDC) have been discussed in literature, we have recently utilized that concept in the actual design of prophylactic indwelling residual hardware prostheses for the very first time. [2–4] A modular titanium hip stem coated with silver at the anode (and titanium as the cathode) and activated by a watch battery encapsulated within the two electrode modules (Figure 1) will result in oligodynamic iontophoresis (OI) in the soft tissue surrounding the implant which is prone to infections. Preliminary in vitro and in vivo results have demonstrated the potency of silver-based OI as an effective local antibacterial therapy in osteomyelitis treatment with advantages over various antibiotics. However, the main challenge here is achieving the antibacterial potency while minimizing any potential toxic effects on local tissues. [4]