Osseointegration of Titanium implants

Osseointegration is a surgical procedure that facilitates and allows an external surgical implant to be attached or adjuvant directly to the bone. It is the scientific term that refers to bone growth on a metal implant.

Osseointegration is recommended and very beneficial because it eliminates the need for a traditional socket prosthesis and also increases the comfort, mobility and quality of life of the implanted person.

Surgery is a process that consists of two stages and during an approximate period of between 6 to 8 weeks. Obviously, it must be integrated with a post-surgery rehabilitation program to achieve optimal adaptation and recovery.

In the first stage, the implant is inserted and in the second, the external prosthesis is inserted. Here the implant undergoes the osseointegration process and the external prosthesis is inserted into the stump.

The implant surface is going to be key to achieving osseointegration and despite the progress made with the development of orthopedic implants, the development of titanium implants with osseointegration is still a challenge.

Currently, implants made of pure titanium and its alloys are the most accepted and used, and the main reason is that it has biocompatible characteristics, is highly resistant to corrosion and has an intrinsic propensity for osseointegration that makes it unique.

According to experts and studies on this subject, for osseointegration to be successful, the implant must have a firm connection, that is, without movement in the bone site. And you have to have that connection between the implant surface and the surrounding bone tissue.

The favorable result of titanium implants is also due to the efficient response of osteogenic cells during healing. But, nevertheless, these implants also have their limitations.

There are new implant surfaces like the porous coating of microespheres or irregular particles titanium plasma spraying, anodizing, calcium phosphate coatings that could improve it. However, research continues on the response of the pre-implanted tissue to these new coatings or the modification of the surface of the implants.

Despite the great advances and achievements, the modification of the surface of the titanium implant continues to be a handicap. In a human body, a titanium implant will require a period of 3-4 months to integrate with the bone, however, in animals it is much faster.

The debate and investigation are still open. At Biovac we work with titanium coating to promote osseointegration and it has the following specifications:

• Rough (Plasma)/porous (microespheres or irregular particles) Titanium coating
• Porosity of 15% Plasma – 40% – Sintered micro spheres – 60% Sintered irregular particles
• Coating roughness > Rt 100 µm
• Adhesion > 22 MPa for Ti plasma, and > 34.5 MPa for microspheres or irregular sintered particles, Biovac reaching 55.1 MPa

Its advantages are:

• Generates a rough (plasma) and porous surface (microspheres or irregular sintered particles) where the bone is the one that adapts and finds a way to hold on to fix the prosthesis.
• The bone grows into the gaps in the coating, thus creating a firm fixation.
• The implanted prosthesis requires this type of rough/porous surfaces to create that union between the implant and bone tissue.
• The pressure between the bone and the implant is considerably reduced and an excellent bonding force is generated.