$3 million NIH grant funds study of joint replacement corrosion
$3 million NIH grant funds study of joint replacement corrosion
Mathew Mathew Thoppil, PhD, is part of a team of researchers who were awarded a National Institutes of Health grant. The grant will be used to study how wear occurs in joint replacements in certain conditions, so preventive measures can be used to prevent the corrosion and resulting inflammation that can lead to failure of such implants.
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases awarded a grant (1R01AR084468) that will provide nearly $3 million over the next five years for the project “Preclinical Assessment Tools for Preventing Fretting Corrosion within Modular Junctions of Total Joint Replacement.”
Dr. Mathew, the Cedric W. Blazer Endowed Professor of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford, is joined as principal investigator by Hannah Lundberg, PhD, and Robin Pourzal, PhD, both of Rush University. Divya Bijukumar, PhD, and Mareeswari Paramasivan, PhD, are also part of the research team from UICOMR.
Surgical joint replacement can greatly improve the quality of life for patients with such conditions as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis or joint damage from an injury. With use, however, those artificial implants experience wear that can cause inflammation in the body and eventually can lead to the implant needing replacement.
This groundbreaking study aims to:
• Understand the underlying mechanisms that cause adverse local tissue reactions
• Develop advanced computational models and bench testing tools to predict corrosion risks before clinical use
• Identify microstructural corrosion sites to enhance implant materials and longevity
This research will help reduce total joint arthroplasty failures and help delay or avoid revision surgeries that are risky and expensive for patients.