Bone remodeling around total hip implants.

This chapter reviews the research in the computer simulation of bone remodeling caused by hip implants and also attempts to give nonmedical personnel a basic introduction to total hip arthroplasty and implant-induced bone resorption. First, a short discussion of the hip arthroplasty procedure and the results of follow-up studies are presented to motivate the study of hip prostheses. Current implant materials and technologies and future trends in implant design are reviewed. A description of what are believed to be the mechanisms of bone resorption due to femoral implantation is presented. Different mathematical theories of bone remodeling and their application to the problem of implant analysis are presented, and recent advances in the finite element modeling of bone resorption and implant micromotion are discussed.