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World News | Cheaper, stronger, less toxic: New alloy shows promise in developing prosthetics

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Johannesburg, November 27 (Dialogue) Titanium is a strong, resilient and relatively light metal. Its properties are also well researched; scientists know a lot about it.

All of this makes it an ideal basis for making prosthetics (especially knees and hips) and teeth. It is less prone to rust than other metals, and studies have shown that it is better for the human body than materials such as stainless steel and cobalt-based materials.

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But there’s one major problem: Titanium doesn’t come cheap. Precise figures are hard to come by, but the average cost of a conservative titanium-based prosthesis ranges from $3,000 to $10,000. That’s expensive for most people, and it’s also true for most people in low- and middle-income countries like Africa.

Again, data are scant, but a recent study in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa, which has better facilities for this type of surgery than most other countries on the continent) found that 606 procedures were performed between 2009 and 2018. Hip replacements and 763 knee replacements.

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There are many more people in the area who may need replacements, but they won’t go because they simply can’t afford the surgery. And, demand for implants is set to increase as the global population ages 65 and over increases; this age group is prone to diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

That’s why we’re working to produce cheaper titanium-based materials that can be used to make affordable limbs. In our latest research, my colleagues and I experimented with metallic elements such as titanium, aluminum, iron and vanadium to create new alloys. We tested each in solutions that mimic human bodily fluids.

We found that the new alloy rusted negligibly in solution. Newer alloys that are slightly less expensive than commercial grade alloys perform just as well—and one alloy even outperforms it.

Pure Titanium and Titanium Alloys

The great benefit of titanium being used to make artificial hips, knees and teeth is that it is safe for use in the human body as it does not degrade easily when in contact with bodily fluids.

However, when used in pure titanium form, it lacks the necessary strength and wear resistance needed to handle the rigors of human activity.

This is why other metallic elements are added. Examples include aluminum, vanadium, zirconium, tantalum, niobium, molybdenum and iron. Scientists use these and other elements to create new alloys that are stronger and more wear-resistant.

The alloy most used today in artificial hip and knee joints is Ti-6Al-4V: 90% titanium, 6% aluminum and 4% vanadium. As effective as it is, it has two major drawbacks. The first is cost. Vanadium is almost as expensive as titanium.

The second is toxicity: a large amount of aluminum and vanadium are poisonous. As materials degrade through corrosion, ions are released into the body and cause chronic inflammation. These ions have also been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

In this study, we reduced the amount of aluminum and vanadium added to Ti-6Al-4V to create a new titanium-based material. We also ruled out aluminum and completely replaced vanadium with iron to create another cheaper titanium-based material.

We then investigated whether these new implant materials degrade rapidly when immersed in human body fluids. We use a solution called Hanks Balanced Salt Solution, which contains the main ingredients in human body fluids. We compared the new titanium material with the commonly used commercial grade Ti-6Al-4V.

survey results

Almost all new alloys outperform Ti-6Al-4V in salt solutions. Those that perform worse in solution are still comparable to Ti-6Al-4V. And none of the new alloys degraded more than 0.13 mm per year, which is the maximum permissible degradation rate allowed for implant materials.

Alloys free of vanadium and aluminum performed well, which means they may be safer than Ti-6Al-4V due to their lower levels of toxicity.

And, crucially, the new alloy is less expensive to produce than Ti-6Al-4V. We are not working on the actual fabrication of the prosthetic – this research focuses on the chemical composition of the alloy.

So we can’t say how much cost savings you will end up with if you use these alloys. However, cost savings of up to 10% can be achieved simply by changing the starting material as we have done, substituting iron for all or part of the aluminum and vanadium.

promising step

From 2030 and beyond, more older people will live in developing countries such as the African continent. As this population increases, the demand for prosthetics is likely to increase as well. That’s why identifying affordable, safe materials is so important. Our study is a promising step toward this goal. (conversation)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)



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