Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare the perturbances in bone deformation patterns of the proximal femur due to a conventional cemented femoral stem and a novel uncemented implant designed on the principles of osseointegration. Five matched pairs of fresh frozen human femora were mechanically tested. Bone deformation patterns, measured with a video digitizing system under 1.5 kN joint force, showed that the cemented Spectron femoral implant caused significant alterations to the proximal femoral deformation pattern, whereas the Gothenburg osseointegrated titanium femoral implant did not significantly alter the bone behaviour (p<0.05). Vertical micromotions measured under 1 kN after 1000 cycles were within the threshold of movement tolerable for bone ingrowth (21 μm for the Gothenburg system and 26 μm for the cemented implant).