WEAR AND SIMULATION

Accredited to internationally recognized standards for wear testing — ISO 18192-1 and ASTM F2423 — Empirical’s in-house, six-station wear testers are complemented by access to a 12-station hip simulator and a four-station knee simulator — all with loaded soak controls.

Motion-preserving spinal implants such as artificial spinal discs, facet replacement devices and posterior dynamic stabilization systems are constantly pushing the envelope with cutting-edge technology and design. Because these devices feature moving parts with articulating surfaces, wear testing is required to determine the amount of particulate generated throughout the functional life of the implant.

Empirical is accredited to internationally recognized standards for wear testing – ISO 18192-1 and ASTM F2423 – and has two six-station wear testers that can handle implants of all four types of non-fusion technologies. With access to a 12-station hip simulator and three four-station knee simulators — all with loaded soak controls — Empirical also can manage simulation testing for hip and knee implants.

Empirical also offers small joint testing, including shoulder, wrist and digital implants. We also test:

  • Artificial discs posterior dynamic stabilization systems
  • Facet replacement devices
  • Nucleus Pulposus (N-P) replacement devices
  • Hip implants
  • Knee implants
  • Shoulder implants
  • Wrist implants
  • Digital implants (phalangeal)
  • Ankle implants