Improvement Of A Trapezo-Metcarpal Prosthesis By Using Electron Beam Melting

Total arthroplasty of the trapezium-metacarpal articulation is a surgical intervention that has the need to place an implant instead of the normal articulation between the metacarpal bone and the trapezium bone. This operation is quite common and remedies to traumatisms or sharp and painful arthritic situations. Currently, most bone implants are made out of Titanium alloys coated with Hydroxyapatite. This choice is essentially due to the excellent biocompatibility properties of Titanium alloys. However, the Young modulus of these alloys is largely higher than the bony one, and this difference in stiffness seems to be the major cause of the bone tissue degradation. Thus, our research objective is to investigate the causes of the damage and progressive pathologies after an arthroplasty of the trapezium-metacarpal articulation and optimize the design of the prosthetic implant.