On the tribological behavior of retrieved hip femoral heads affected by metallic debris. A comparative investigation by stylus and optical profilometer for a new roughness measurement protocol

In this study, 35 retrieved ceramics femoral heads with evidence of metallic dark lines on the surface were analysed. The surface roughness of these femoral heads was acquired using both a stylus contact profiler and an optical non-contact profilometer. The metallic deposition on hip ball surface, also known as Metal Transfer (MT), appeared as dark metallic and can occur during the surgery or during the reduction of a dislocated prosthesis. In this study, we validate a new protocol to measure surface roughness on retrieved femoral heads, by using the aforementioned two different acquisition techniques and also to investigate the hypothesis that such metal transfer retrieved ceramic femoral head is associated with increased surface roughness. All femoral components of this investigation showed remarkable differences in roughness values between MT-affected and MT-unaffected areas. The two acquisition procedures - conventional stylus and 3D confocal profilometer - confirmed a satisfying agreement, even considering the obvious resolution difference.