A TECHNIQUE FOR EMBEDDING STRAIN-GAUGES WITHIN CURING BONE-CEMENT

The long-term success of orthopedic implants requires a method of fixation to bone that will last the lifetime of the device. At present, fixation with bone cement (pmm) is the primary factor limiting long term success. Further information is needed on the stress sustained by the cement. In the past, analytical methods have been the primary approach used to investigate cement strains necessary for the understanding of performance and design of cement implant systems. The purpose of this study was to establish a strain gage technique which could be used to experimentally measure intra-cement strains. This note describe the methodology used to embed both open faced and encapsulated strain gages within curing bone cement and a validation experiment which was used to evaluate the performance of the embedded strain gages.