Resistance of coated polyetheretherketone lumbar interbody fusion cages against abrasion under simulated impaction into the disc space

2018 
In order to improve osseointegration, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) interbody fusion cages are frequently surface coated. The bonding strength of the coatings is mostly investigated under unrealistic loading conditions. To close this gap, in this study, uncoated and coated cages were loaded in a clinical setup in order to investigate their real resistance against abrasion.Six uncoated, six calcium phosphate (CaP) nanocoated, and six titanium (Ti) nanocoated PEEK cages were tested in this study. The experimental setup was designed to mimic cage impaction into the intervertebral disc space using polyurethane (PU) foam blocks as vertebral body substitutes. The cage surface was inspected before and after impaction, and their weight was measured.Impaction resulted in abrasion at the tip of the ridges on the implant surface. The mean weight loss was 0.39 mg for the uncoated cages, 0.57 mg for the CaP nanocoated cages, and 0.75 mg for the Ti nanocoated cages. These differences were statistically significant.In con...
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