Polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) is an alternative to metal alloys in orthopaedic applications. It gives significant advantages including excellent mechanical properties and non-toxicity. In this work, a set of specimens with different notched radii were selected to examine the effect of triaxial state of stress on the fracture behavior of PEEK. Fractographic analysis via scanning electron microsc...

STUDY DESIGN The bone union rate after lumbar interbody fusion (LIF) using titanium (Ti) or polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cages was investigated retrospectively. OBJECTIVE To assess whether the PEEK cage is superior to the Ti cage in terms of bone union after LIF. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA We previously reported that the formation of vertebral endplate cysts is useful for predicting nonunion...

In this paper, experimental fatigue behaviour of adhesively bonded PEEK composite was investigated. PEEK based materials are considered as a high performance thermoplastic materials conferring to their good mechanical properties and chemical resistant for many aggressive environments due to their semi-crystallinity property. However, it is well known that the adhesive bonding assembly of this k...

The small punch test is widely used to characterize the ductility and fracture resistance in metals and ceramics, when only a small volume of material is available. This study was conducted to investigate the suitability of the small punch test for characterizing polyetheretherketone (PEEK) polymeric biomaterials for changes in material grade, crystallinity, and molding process. The small punch...

BACKGROUND This meta-analysis was performed to identify the benefits and disadvantages of the PEEK cage and titanium cage. METHODS We used "cervical or cervicle", "titanium", and "polyetheretherketone or PEEK" as keywords. Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and other databases were searched to identify eligible studies that were published before October 2015. In a...

BACKGROUND Anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion (ACDF) is a well-established surgical treatment for radiculopathy and myelopathy. Previous studies showed that empty PEEK cages have lower radiographic fusion rates, but the clinical relevance remains unclear. This paper's aim is to provide high-quality evidence on the outcomes of ACDF with empty PEEK cages and on the relevance of radiographic ...

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) has gained interest in many industrial applications due to its high strength-to-weight ratio, excellent heat tolerance and high corrosion resistance. Stress concentrators such as notches and geometrical discontinuities are present in many such components necessitating the reliable assessment of notch sensitivity of PEEK in monotonic tension. Here we evaluate the appl...

OBJECTIVES Fracture strength is an important factor influencing the clinical long-term success of implant-supported prostheses especially in high stress situations like excessive crown height space (CHS). The purpose of this study was to compare the fracture strength of implant-supported fixed partial dentures (FPDs) with excessive crown height, fabricated from three different materials. MATE...

BACKGROUND Combination of surgery and radiotherapy in the treatment of primary spine tumour can be indicated in some cases where a satisfactory oncological margin cannot be achieved. The presence of metal hardware has always limited post-operative radiotherapy due to the scattering effects of ionizing radiation or particles. The use of a fixation system (including rods and screw) fully made in ...