Niobium, Zirconium, and Tantalum for Medical and Surgical

Reactive metals and their alloys are used in a variety of biomedical applications from pace makers to hips implants. This new ASTM publication provides the latest developments on these alloys, their processing techniques for medical applications, characterization of fundamental materials properties critical to their use for biomedical applications, and evaluation of biological and clinical performance.

Eighteen peer-reviewed papers cover:

Alloy Processing—includes information on the formulation and processing of five important, new implantable metallic biomaterials:

• Ti-12Mo-6Zr-2Fe alloy ("TMZF")
• Zr-2.5Nb alloy ("Oxidized Zirconium", "Oxinium")
• Tantalum foam ("Trabecular Metal")
• Ti-35Nb-7Zr-5Ta alloy ("TiOsteum")
• Ti-15Mo alloy

Alloy Properties—focuses on the bulk and surface properties, especially stress corrosion cracking and fatigue, of a number of different titanium alloys, which may be used for implants. Additional information is provided on the fracture mechanisms of several of these alloys.

Biological and Clinical Evaluation—deals with the biological and clinical evaluation of titanium, niobium, zirconium and tantalum used in the medical and surgical setting, including a new method of grit-blasting for implant surfaces, clinical evaluation of 14 retrieved modular body (SROM) total hip stems removed at the time of revision surgery, and a practical methodology to generate titanium and stainless steel wear debris particles for use in further study of the process of osteolysis and its treatment.