Thirteen peer-reviewed papers provide the latest information on simulator wear testing of orthopedic joint systems, as well as the relationship of simulated wear to clinical wear. Four sections cover:

Total Knee—addresses modeling and motion constraints of total knee simulation; including force control, soft tissue constraints, and slip velocity; and new concepts of modeling with neural networks or computational prediction of wear.

Vertebral Disc—covers simulation of total disc prostheses. These papers represent the early stages of establishing a correlation between wear patterns seen in simulators with those seen in the limited number of retrievals.

Lubricants and General—focuses on the biological effects of lubricants and wear debris. These papers emphasize the importance of effectively separating lubricant absorption from effects of wear and the problem of measuring low wear rates associated with radiation modified polyethylene.

Total Hip—examines different setups for total hip simulators.