Stryker coming out with their gold knee later this year. If they went pyro carbon and Gold then we can pretty much assume ceramic is a no go. Probably why spine dr’s won’t adopt its use either. Nobody wants to be the one with a broken shard of ceramic cutting a spinal cord in half. Ceramic has its known issues, that’s why Stryker went with other options, not many ceramic hip users left anyways. Smith and nephew has never promoted oxinium as a ceramic coating. They sell it as oxidized zirconium. A nickle free alternative. Never will they compare it to a ceramic or a coating. No no words in the industry. Everyone waiting to see this gold knee from Stryker.
Is there a documented incident of a Si3N4 spinal implant breaking & cutting a spinal cord in half? You're saying Ceramic like all ceramics are created equal and thats just not the case. Silicon Nitride is superior to ZTA for instance but not necessarily in regards to wear performance where they were fairly equal. Si3N4 extended the life of the liners however. The other component not widely discussed is the buildup of ZTA in the surrounding tissue with some potential to migrate to organs like the brain. Thats an issue with all the other materials as they are inflammatory, do not breakdown in the body and thus buildup in the tissue, and in regards to metals at least, are transported throughout the body to accumulate in its organs.
Yes even Silicon Nitride is not perfect. Its biggest drawback was its modulus of elasticity if i recall but 3D printing is supposed to fix that creating very precise highly porous implants. As Si3n4 is Biodegradable and enhances osseointregration as it breaks down, they could develop implants that are slowly replaced by the bone as it regrows...at least in regards to spine.
Oxinium is not Si3n4 nor does it have the benefits of Si3n4. Also, did Smith and Nephew even bother to develop a coating to market? Maybe thats why they never promoted it?
Gold is just another metal and as such it will experience issues with Hutchison Effect caused spontaneous fracturing, it'll amplify EM radiation causing problems for patients, it'll suffer corrosion issues, and it'll slowly poison patients just like any other metal with ions that traverse the body.
Sintx also has 3D printed PEEK/Si3N4 spine implants coming soon. The 2 year study should be coming to an end anytime during the next few months. Given managements mention of this tech in their recent update PR, im guessing results were good. Not a fan of PEEK but I see it and Sintx coating tech as a bridge to help transition the industry to full Si3N4 implants and fill gaps in places Si3n4 is not as effective. Same with metals, we will not likely see them completely transitioned away from as there are applications where the strength/durability are absolutely necesssary. In that case a Si3n4 coating could be applied to reduce corrosion (ion release) and potentially reduce spontaneous fracturing.
All the above aside, Sintx Si3N4 can be used in so many different applications outside of spine, arthroplasty, and dental. Cancer, wound care, catheters, PPE, neural implants, and so many other applications its crazy to consider them all. I do not know why Zimmer Biomet would not want to partner and eventually acquire the tech as its spent decades helping oversee its development. Sintx and its materials would help Zimmer Biomet diversify its revenue sources like no other company could. That is if ZB actually wants to continue as a public company and isnt looking to get acquired as another thread here suggests. With Arthur Higgins conenctions to the ADIA and Sintx connections to it via TVM, maybe a PE company will acquire both? They certainly have the money to invest over in the Middle East and it would be a way to further diversify away from their depence on Oil revenue.