An Israeli company is tackling a long-term problem faced by patients who receive a total hip replacement (THR). The company is M.M.A. Tech Ltd and the problem is that the wear created by the articulating components of an artificial hip joint can lead to complications including inflammation around the implant, pain and revision surgery after 10 to 15 years.
Firm Offers New Coating for THR
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If the implant is made of metal, metal ions and debris from wear have, in some patients, been absorbed into tissues and the bloodstream. Not good. The search has been on for years to find more durable and inert materials with which to coat the parts of the hip replacement device.
M.M.A. Tech has developed a component made of polyimide material (MP1) that it says was first developed for the aerospace industry. The company claims that its product “combines unusual toughness, self-lubrication, and excellent friction and wear durability, resistance to fatigue, creep and impact and provides a longer lifespan of articulating implanted components.”
The company has conducted pilot studies in New Zealand. These, officials report, have involved 28 cases with one year’s successful follow-up and two cases with eight year’s successful follow-up clinical reports. Regulatory authorities granted M.M.A. Tech a CE mark in 2011.
“I’m very happy with the study results showing that the MP1 achieved safety and efficacy, ” said Simha Sibony, M.Sc., company CEO. ”The innovative new material improves life quality and extends it by an estimated 25-30 years. It enables the THR procedure to be performed on young people and is safe since it does not wear, and is totally inert and compatible to body systems.” More than one million THR surgeries are performed annually worldwide with a total cost of billions of dollars.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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