THE USE OF ASTM F-75 OR THE CO-CR ALLOYS IN GENERAL IS WIDESPREAD IN THE ORTHOPEDIC COMMUNITY IN TOTAL JOINT REPLACEMENTS.

THE USE OF ASTM F-75 OR THE CO-CR ALLOYS IN GENERAL IS WIDESPREAD IN THE ORTHOPEDIC COMMUNITY IN TOTAL JOINT REPLACEMENTS. THERE ARE MANY QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE ION RELEASE OF THE CONSTITUENTS OF THESE ALLOYS. COBALT, CHROMIUM, AND NICKEL ARE ALL KNOWN OR SUSPECTED CARCINOGENS OR MUTAGENS. THEY ALSO ACCUMULATE IN CERTAIN ORGANS AND CAN IMPAIR THEIR FUNCTIONS. SPIRE PROPOSES TO USE ITS EXTENSIVE CAPABILITIES IN ION BEAM TECHNOLOGIES TO INTRODUCE PLATINUM AND OTHER ELEMENTS INTO THE NEAR SURFACE OF F-75 SAMPLES. THE SAMPLES WILL BE TESTED IN ACCELERATED CORROSION ENVIRONMENTS, NOTABLY CORROSIVE-WEAR APPARATUS AND FATIGUE-CORROSION APPARATUS. REDUCTIONS IN CORROSION RATES WILL CORRESPOND TO REDUCED ION RELEASE RATES IN VIVO. PHASE II RESEARCH WILL INVOLVE TREATMENT OF ACTUAL TEST SAMPLES FOR IMPLANTATION IN LABORATORY TEST ANIMALS. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH IS TO COMMERCIALIZE TREATMENT