Diamond-like carbon:  a potential means of reducing wear in total joint replacements.
This paper begins with a review of recent studies of the progressive mechanisms of degradation in total hip and knee replacements.  It is concluded that wear is a major problem due to resulting tissue reactions especially to fine polymeric debris.  Methods of lessening or overcoming these problems by modern methods of surface modification are considered, among these being ion implantation and ion beam-assisted deposition.  It is argued that the physical and chemical properties of diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings make them especially promising for the reduction of friction and adhesive wear in all forms of joint replacement.  An ion beam-assisted method of depositing DLC efficiently at low temperatures is described, together with the physical properties of the resulting material.
AEA Industrial Technology, Harwell Laboratory, Didcot, UK.
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Dearnaley
D000268:Adhesiveness; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D004868:Equipment Failure; D017276:Friction; D006622:Hip Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D007720:Knee Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D013499:Surface Properties