Continuum® Acetabular System

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The Continuum® Acetabular System provides flexible solutions for orthopaedic surgeons who treat a wide range of patients. The system combines the biologic ingrowth of Trabecular Metal™ Technology with bearing options, giving surgeons the ability to address variations of anatomy and choose the technology that best meets the needs of each patient.

  • Highly porous Trabecular Metal material with over 19 years of clinical history7-9
  • Vivacit-E® Vitamin E Highly Crosslinked Polyethylene has the ultra-low wear rates of traditional crosslinked polyethylenes, but with improved strength and antioxidant protection to meet the long-term performance needs of high demand hip implant patients1-4
  • Longevity® Highly Cross-linked Polyethylene is highly resistant to wear and aging with over 13 years of clinical history5
  • BIOLOX® delta ceramic offers low wear rate in a material with improved mechanical properties compared to traditional ceramics6

Product Features

Trabecular Metal Material

Trabecular Metal is a unique, highly porous biomaterial made from elemental tantalum with structural, functional and physiological properties similar to that of the bone.5

  • 100% open pore structure and up to 80% porosity, creates an osteoconductive scaffold5,6
  • Pore structure supports vascularisation and bony ingrowth5,6
  • More than 19 years of clinical use with over 320 peer-reviewed journal publications17-19

Polyethylene Technologies

Zimmer Biomet’s highly crosslinked polyethylene-Longevity® has demonstrated more than 13 years of clinical success.7 In vitro studies, Longevity showed a near 0 wear rate that was lower than competitors’ polyethylene.2

Built on the legacy of Longevity, Vivacit-E Highly Crosslinked Polyethylene includes antioxidant protection to meet the long-term performance needs of high-demand patients.

  • Exceptional Oxidative Stability: The oxidative stability of Vivacit-E HXPE is the result of a proprietary process that grafts (locks) Vitamin E directly to the polyethylene chain.12-15 Vitamin E continuously stabilises the material to prevent oxidative degradation of the polyethylene. When subjected to accelerated aging for 33 weeks (more than 16 times the industry standard) Vivacit-E HXPE showed no signs of oxidation or significant decline in mechanical properties.8
  • Ultra-low Wear: The ultra-low wear rates of Longevity liners have been well established with over 13 years of clinical history.7 In tests on 2 week-aged 40mm articulation size Vivacit-E liners and Longevity liners, Vivacit-E liners showed ultra-low wear rates comparable to Longevity liners.9 To prove Vivacit-E HXPE’s long-term ultra-low wear properties, a wear test was run out to 100 million cycles, providing Vivacit-E has ultra-low wear properties even after long-term simulator testing.16
  • Improved Strength: There are many tests to define a material’s strength. Zimmer Biomet has realised an improvement in tensile strength with Vivacit-E HXPE. Vivacit-E HXPE has antioxidant protection that eliminates the need to re-melt the polyethylene, leading to an improvement in strength. The Vitamin E in Vivacit-E HXPE prevents oxidation, resulting in mechanical strength that is retained after accelerated aging in more than 16 times the 2-week industry standard test according to ASTM F2003.10,11

BIOLOX® Ceramic Technology*

BIOLOX ceramic technology offers a low wear4 and high fracture4 resistant material for use with the Continuum Acetabular system. This material helps meet the demands of today's growing patient population. 

  • Very low wear
  • Ceramic surface hardness reduces friction and improves wear4
  • Favourable wetting characteristics of ceramic contribute to better lubrication and lower wear4
  • High fracture resistance
  • BIOLOX delta toughness and bending strength is more durable over pure alumina ceramics through the addition of zirconia and strontium oxide4
*BIOLOX is a trademark of CeramTec GmbH

Technology

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References

  1. Zhang Y, et al., Interfacial frictional behavior: cancellous bone, cortical bone, and a novel porous tantalum biomaterial. J Musculoskeletal Res. 1999; 3(4): 245-251.
  2. Muratoglu OK, et al., The comparison of the wear behavior of four different types of crosslinked acetabular components. 46th AnnualMeeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society. Paper 0566. 2000.
  3. Data on file at Zimmer.
  4. Kuntz M, Validation of a New High Performance Alumina Matrix Composite for use in Total Joint Replacement. Seminars in Arthroplasty, 2006; 17: 141-145.
  5. Bobyn JD, Hacking SA, Chan SP, et al. Characterization of new porous tantalum biomaterial for reconstructive orthopaedics. Scientific Exhibition: 66th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; 1999; Anaheim, CA.
  6. Karageorgiou V, Kaplan D. Porosity of biomaterial scaffolds and osteogenesis. Biomaterials. 2005;26:5474-5491.
  7. Bragdon, C. et al. Clincal Multicenter Studies of the Wear Performance of Highly Crosslinked Remelted Polyethylene in THA. Clinical Orthopedic Related Research. (2013). 471:393-402.
  8. Pletcher, D. et al. Vitamin E Grafted HXPE Shows Superior Mechanical Property Retention Compared to Conventional UHMWPE and Sequentially Annealed HXP. Poster No. 1868. ORS 2014 Meeting.
  9. Data on file at Zimmer. ZRR_WA_2512_12
  10. Data on file at Zimmer. ZRR_WA_2401_11, Rev.1
  11. Data on file at Zimmer. TM1140.98
  12. Oral, E. et al. Crosslinked Vitamin E Blended UHMWPE with Improved Grafting and Wear Resistance. Poster No. 1181. ORS 2011 Meeting.
  13. Oral, E. et al. Trace Amounts of Grafted Vitamin E Protection UHMWPE Against Sequalene-initiated Oxidation. Poster No. 1295. ORS 2011 Meeting.
  14. Rowell, S. et al. Detection of Vitamin E in Irradiated UHMWPE by UV-Visable Spectroscopy. Poster No. 1186. ORS 2011 Meeting.
  15. Wolf, C. et al. Radiation Grafting of Vitamin E to Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene. Poster No. 1178. ORS 2011 Meeting.
  16. Data on file at Zimmer. ZRR_WA_3036_15
  17. Zhang Y, Ahn PB, Fitzpatrick DC, Heiner A, Poggie RA, Brown TD, Interfacial frictional behavior; cancellous bone, cortical bone, and a novel porous tantalum biomaterial. J Musculoskeletal Res 1999
  18. JD Bobyn, GJ Stackpool, SA Hacking, M Tanzer, JJ Krygier, Characteristics of Bone In-Growth and Interface Mechanics of a New Porous Tantalum Biomaterial, The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (British Version), Sept, 1999, 81-B No. 5 pp 907-914.
  19. A Shirazi-Adl, M Dammak, G Paiement, "Experimental determination of friction characteristics at the Trabecular bone / porous-coated metal interface in Cementless implants", the J of Biomedical Research, Vol 27, 1993, pp 167-175.

 

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