Silicon Nitride Coatings for Improved Implant Function

Objective

Articulating joint replacements represent a medical market exceeding €14 billion p.a. that is expected to rise as demographics reflect an ageing population. However, faster growth has been seen in the revision market, where prosthetic joints are replaced, than in primary interventions. The major cause of these revisions is that all joint replacements are prone to wear leading to loss of implant function. Further, it has been demonstrated that adverse or extreme loading has a detrimental effect on implant performance. Thus, device failure still occurs too frequently leading to the conclusion that their longevity and reliability must be improved. The premise of this proposal is to realise that wear and corrosion are an inevitable consequence of all implant interfaces within contemporary total joint replacements. To overcome this problem our novel approach is to use silicon nitride coatings in which the combined high wear resistance of this material and solubility of any silicon nitride wear particles released, reduce the overall potential for adverse tissue reactions. In this work a variety of silicon nitride based coatings will be applied to different tribological scenarios related to total hip arthroplasty. The coatings’ suitability in each scenario will be assessed against target profiles. In particular, it is important to consider coating performance within each of these applications under adverse conditions as well as those outlined in internationally utilised standards. To accomplish this, cutting-edge adverse simulation techniques, in vitro assays and animal models will be developed together with a suite of computational assessments to significantly enhance device testing in terms of predicting clinical performance. Data will inform new standards development and enhance current testing scenarios, and will provide 5 European enterprises with a significant market advantage, whilst providing data for a regulatory submission which is aligned with Dir 93/42/EEC.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

• engineering and technology materials engineering coating and films
• natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry metalloids

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-NMP - Specific Programme "Cooperation": Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

• NMP.2012.2.2-1 - Biomaterials for improved performance of medical implants

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-NMP-2012-LARGE-6
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

CP-IP - Large-scale integrating project

Coordinator

Participants (14)