10:36, 16 December 2025

Russian Scientists Build a Digital Model for Longer-Lasting Joint Implants

The breakthrough tool predicts fatigue in carbon implants, helping surgeons avoid repeat operations.

Russian scientists have made a major advance in artificial joint design. Researchers at Perm National Research Polytechnic University have developed what they say is the world’s first computer model that can accurately predict how modern carbon hip implants wear down over time. The system makes it possible to estimate an implant’s service life in advance and reinforce weak points, opening the door to more personalized and safer joint replacement procedures.

A Two-Level Approach

Today, millions of patients worldwide receive metal joint implants. But these devices are often too rigid for bone, which over time can lead to bone degradation and loosening of the implant. After 10–15 years, many patients require a second, complex surgery. Modern carbon–carbon composites offer an alternative: their flexibility is close to that of natural bone, they do not trigger allergies, and they do not interfere with medical imaging. Their drawback, however, lies elsewhere—under repeated stress, invisible microcracks accumulate inside the material, and until now it has been impossible to predict how this process affects the strength of the entire prosthesis.

The Perm researchers’ model addresses this challenge. Its novelty lies in a two-level approach that simultaneously analyzes processes at the scale of microscopic material crystals and at the scale of the full implant structure embedded in bone.

“The entire workflow is built as a cyclic process that imitates the gradual accumulation of damage,” said Yegor Razumovsky, a postgraduate researcher in the university’s Department of Mechanics of Composite Materials and Structures. “The software calculates the load on the whole system, then checks whether these deformations have caused fractures in microscopic particles inside the material. If they have, the composite’s properties in that zone degrade, and the calculation is repeated for an already weakened implant. The cycle continues until the model shows critical loss of strength.”

Identifying and Reinforcing Weak Points

As a result, the simulations identified four key zones in the femoral component where damage accumulates fastest. This means the prosthesis does not lose strength abruptly but degrades gradually, making it possible to predict the moment when replacement becomes necessary.

The significance of the development is hard to overstate. The model has no known equivalents worldwide and was validated by comparison with real experimental data. Its computational capacity allows researchers to analyze millions of material elements, ensuring a high degree of predictive accuracy.

“The final deformation patterns predicted by our calculations match the behavior of real samples in physical tests,” said Vyacheslav Shavshukov, an associate professor at the same department and a candidate of physical and mathematical sciences. “This proves that the model correctly captures the physics of failure at every scale—from microcracks to the loss of stiffness in the entire structure. Such a tool makes it possible to virtually test new implants and strengthen their weak points at the design stage.”

The introduction of this technology is expected to speed up and reduce the cost of developing more reliable prostheses, while also laying the groundwork for deeper certification based on long-term performance analysis. The work reinforces Russia’s position in the field of biomedical engineering.

Medicine and healthcare