Applications of plasma coatings in artificial joints: an overview

Current surgical implants such as artificial hip and knee joints undergo degradation after 10-15 years of use. Joint implant failure is common enough that attempts at improvement have been made. Plasma coating technologies have proven to be effective in improving the performance of artificial joints. Plasma coating can enhance the fatigue strength, the corrosion and wear resistance as well as the load-bearing capacity. In this work, we review the common failures in artificial joints and the role of plasma coating in biomedical applications. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.