Minimizing Stress Shielding and Cement Damage inCemented Femoral Component of a Hip Prosthesis throughComputational Design Optimization

The average life expectancy of many people undergoing total hip replacement (THR) exceeds twenty-five years and the demand forimplants that increase the load-bearing capability of the bone without affecting the short- or long-term stability of the prosthesisis high. Mechanical failure owing to cement damage and stress shielding of the bone are the main factors affecting the long-termsurvival of cemented hip prostheses and implant design must realistically adjust to balance between these two conflicting effects.In the following analysis we introduce a novel methodology to achieve this objective, the numerical technique combines automaticand realistic modeling of the implant and embedding medium, and finite element analysis to assess the levels of stress shieldingand cement damage and, finally, global optimization, using orthogonal arrays and probabilistic restarts, were used. Applications toimplants, fabricated using a homogeneous material and a functionally graded material, were presented.