Originating from an aviation industry innovation, porous tantalum material branded Trabecular Metal™ Material has been developed to an efficient bone replacement material and used clinically since 1997. It resembles trabecular bone in its cellular structure and weight-bearing characteristics making it an outstanding ingrow/ongrow solution. This highly porous, structural biomaterial enables rapid and extensive bone infiltration by approximating the mechanical and physical properties of the bone. Several studies are showing the great benefit for patients to serve heavy bone defects in joint replacements and revisions.

Trabecular Metal implants are fabricated using elemental tantalum metal to deposit with vapor deposition techniques on to a carbonized polyurethane foam (reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC)), which creates a metallic strut configuration. It consists of fully interconnecting pores with 70%-80% porosity which allows approximately 2-3 times greater bone ingrowth and double the interface shear strength compared to conventional porous coatings. The 3-D structure of the material provides inherent flexibility similar to bone, thereby reducing the risk for stress shielding. Additionally, the terminal struts on the surface of the TM components provide a high friction that increases primary implant stability.

The shape of the trabecular metal parts can be formed at polyurethane foam stage and produced as net shapes. They can also be machined after the CVD process to the required shape. The flexibility of this technique allows a variety in shapes of the final component. It permits trabecular metal to be used in many implant systems as augment, as well as attaching it to other titanium alloy or CoCr alloy implant parts as a bone ingrowth component. With various options of combinations, it provides the possibility to tailor individualized solutions for each patient.

This presentation will cover the development history of trabecular metal in the medical device industry, including details about the technology, and its application in various implant systems.