Characterization and Modeling of the Inductive Heating of CoCrMo Hip Implants to Facilitate Intentional Removal

Revision surgery for total hip arthroplasties involves removing the endoprosthesis stem from the patient's femur. The conventional method of extraction carries a substantial risk of peripheral bone damage, impeding rehabilitation and reducing stability of the revision endoprosthesis. A promising option for intentional implant removal in revision hip arthroplasty is the use of transcutaneous induction heating to soften the thermoplastic bone cement to reduce extraction forces and increase patient safety. Accurate knowledge of the implant surface temperatures generated during induction heating is essential to avoid thermal damage to surrounding tissues. In this work, an in-silico model for the induction heating of CoCrMo hip endoprostheses was developed and validated using IR thermography. This model allows for the prediction of surface temperature distributions on hip implants in the low temperature ranges required for intentional implant removal and aids in the design of inductor geometries to achieve homogeneous heating of hip endoprostheses.