Development and evaluation of a new surface treatment method for titanium alloy implants

We developed and evaluated a new method of titanium surface treatment for direct bone fixation of implants. This method consists of hydroxyapatite (HA) flame coating onto a porous titanium surface which is arc-sprayed with pure titanium material in argon gas at atmospheric pressure. The surface roughness of the porous layer was 360 microm, Rmax, and showed higher resistance to blast erosion in comparison with the conventional low-pressure plasma-sprayed porous layers of titanium. The thickness of the HA layer was between 20 and 40 microm considering the balance of bone conduction effect of HA and the possibility of mechanical detachment of the layers from the porous titanium. Short-term animal tests showed excellent results. This new surface treatment method was applied to cementless total hip joints which were used clinically. The results obtained from observations of the retrieved specimens show that the thickness of the HA coating layer is sufficient for the new bone formation after implantation. It was concluded that the new surface treatment method for titanium alloy implants is effective and successful for direct bone fixation.