This project attempts to quantify the integrity of the fixation of total hip arthro- T plasties (THAs) by observing vibration signal features. The aim of this thesis is, therefore, to find the signal differences between firm and loose prosthesis. These difference will be expressed in different transformed domains with the expectation that a certain domain will provide superior results. Once the signal differences have been determined they will be examined for their ability to quantify the looseness. Initially, a new definition of progressive, femoral component loosening was created, based on the application of mechanical fit, involving four general conditions. In order of increasing looseness the conditions (with their equivalent engineering associations) are listed as, firm (adherence), firm (interference), micro-loose (transition) and macro-loose (clearance). These conditions were then used to aid in the development and evaluation of a simple mathematical model based on an ordinary differential equation. Several possible parameters well suited to quantification such as gap displacement, cement/interface stiffness and apparent mass were the identified from the model. In addition, the development of this model provided a solution to the problem of unifying early and late loosening mentioned in the literature by Li et al. in 1995 and 1996. This unification permitted early (micro loose) and late (macro loose) loosening to be quantified, if necessary, with the same parameter. The quantification problem was posed as a detection problem by utilising a varying amplitude input. A set of detection techniques were developed to detect the quantity of a critical value, in this case a force. The detection techniques include deviation measures of the instantaneous frequency of the impulse response of the system (accuracy of 100%), linearity of the systems response to Gaussian input (total accuracy of 97.9% over all realisations) and observed resonant frequency linearity with respect to displacement magnitude (accuracy of 100%). Note, that as these techniques were developed with the model in mind their simulated performance was, therefore, considerably high. This critical value found by the detector was then fed into the model and a quantified output was calculated. The quantification techniques using the critical value approach include, ramped amplitude input resonant analysis (experimental accuracy of 94%) and ramped amplitude input stochastic analysis (experimental accuracy of 90%). These techniques were based on analysing the response of the system in the time-frequency domain and with respect to its short-time statistical moments to a ramping amplitude input force, respectively. In addition, other mechanically sound forms of analysis, were then applied to the output of the nonlinear model with the aim of quantifying the looseness or the integrity of fixation of the THA. The cement/interface stiffness and apparent mass techniques, inspired by the work of Chung et.al. in 1979, attempt to assess the integrity of fixation of the THA by tracking the mechanical behaviour of the components of the THA, using the frequency and magnitude of the raw transducer data. This technique has been developed fron the theory of Chung etal but with a differing perspective and provides accuracies of 82% in experimentation and 71% in simulation for the apparent mass and interface stiffness techniques, respectively. Theses techniques do not quantify all forms of clinical loosening, as clinical loosening can exist in many different forms, but they do quantify mechanical loosening or the mechanical functionality of the femoral component through related parameters that observe reduction in mechanical mass, stiffness and the amount of rattle generated by a select ghap betweent he bone/cement or prosthesis/cement interface. This form of mechanical loosening in currently extremely difficult to detect using radiographs. It is envisaged that a vibration test be used in conjunction with radiographs to provide a more complete picture of the integrity of fixation of the THA.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/264801 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Creators | Stevenson, Nathan |
| Publisher | Queensland University of Technology |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Nathan Stevenson |
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