Towards an automated system for the custom CAD/CAM of hip joints

Acrylic cement provides immediate fixation for hip joints, but the effect is not always permanent and painful loosening of the prosthesis often results. To overcome the difficulty of loosening surgeons and bioengineers have combined to to design non-cemented custom hip prostheses that fit accurately into the intramedullary canal of the diseased joint. Most of the pre-operational planning for hip replacement can now be automated with the assistance of computers.