University of Birmingham and the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust have partnered to understand implant failure.
A research partnership led by Birmingham Health Partners members, the University of Birmingham and the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (ROH) is launching at the end of the month to improve understanding of the performance and failure of implants used in orthopaedic surgery.
The Birmingham Implant Retrievals Centre will analyse orthopaedic implants that have failed and associated tissue samples. Researchers will use these to analyse why devices fail, how implants behave inside the body, and how patient safety can be improved through earlier identification of risk.
“While joint replacement implants have improved significantly, and therefore patient outcomes, understanding why implants fail is critical,” said ROH’s Adrian Gardner, research and development director and consultant spinal surgeon.
The University of Birmingham is applying advanced engineering expertise to the study of implants that have been retrieved from patients following revision joint replacements, working closely with surgeons at ROH to understand how devices perform over time in patients.
Fast analysis
By coordinating retrieval, consent, and transfer processes between ROH and the university, implants and tissue samples can be analysed quickly. This enables detailed insight into wear, corrosion, material degradation and failure mechanisms. The linkages with clinical data and close working relationships with clinicians will provide regulators and industry with the insight they need for future development of joint replacement implants.
The Birmingham Implant Retrievals Centre hopes this work will enhance patient safety by earlier detection of risk failure, improve understanding of the causes of revision joint replacements, and develop evidence to support better screening and testing of new and existing implant devices.
“Routine explant analysis, robustly linked to clinical records and National Joint Registry data, is a vital component of evidence-based life-cycle evaluation for both established and emerging orthopaedic devices. Explant analysis has long been, and continues to be, a key tool for detecting potential device-related safety signals and root cause failure mechanisms, strengthening post-market surveillance, and ultimately enhancing patient safety,” said Michael Bryant, professor of tribology and corrosion engineering at the University of Birmingham.
