Anatomic Specimen Testing

Implant Micromotion is studies through unique transducer designs developed and employed within the Health Science Solutions Laboratory to assess implant effects on normal vertebral motion.

Micromotion Between Components.  Small scale deflections such as screw movement within a fixation plate or components within an implant assembly can be quantified under both static and/or dynamic testing.  Using customizable Arc Transducer technology, S-E-A’s HSS Lab can acquire data to several microns if needed.

In-Vitro Dynamic Indentation Tissue Response.  Using multi-axial alignment and cyclic loading, S-E-A’s HSS Lab can establish the localized response to dynamic force application.  Variations to this methodology can include effects of loading frequency, loading magnitude and contact area.

3-D Range of Motion.  Measurements across moving joints can be challenging. Using unique 3-dimensional motion sensors, S-E-A’s HSS Lab can accurately monitor motion across a joint in all three directions.  When extremely small uniaxial motion measurement is required, we employ anatomical site specific customized micromotion transducers accurate to several microns to collect the necessary data.

Contact Force Determination.  Often it is necessary to determine  the forces that are transferred to the underlying anatomical tissue in the case of device implantation.  S-E-A’s HSS Lab conducts both static and dynamic testing to determine the temporal or direct load transfer properties.

Dynamic Fatigue Testing.  Traditional fatigue testing (ASTM or ISO) only provide PASS/FAIL results at specified load levels.  S-E-A’s HSS Lab provides the capability to obtain a continuous data set of the implant performance across the full term of a specified fatigue test.  The acquired data allows for the quantification of implant performance rather than simple PASS/FAIL criteria.