Desenvolvimento de uma placa de fixação óssea utilizando liga com memória de forma Ni-Ti.

Abstract

Surgical procedures for facial skull reconstruction have been developing significantly and much of this progress is due to innovations in surgical techniques and the use of new materials in the manufacture of fastening devices. The main objective is to make the procedures more efficient and less invasive to the patients, consequently there will be a decrease in the rates of reworking. The use of Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) may be an interesting alternative in these cases, since these materials have an adaptive behavior, with the ability to react to external stimuli of a thermal or mechanical nature. The SMA of the Ni-Ti family lead the research interest due to the greater number of commercial applications, mainly in the medical and dental areas. In addition to being biocompatible, these Ni-Ti SMAs also have lower modulus of elasticity than titanium alloys, such as Ti-Al-V, and stainless steels. In this context, the objective of this work is to develop a prototype bone fixation plate, which can be used for trauma and mandibular reconstruction procedures, using a Ni-Ti SMA with superelastic characteristics. A plate-type fastening element was chosen as the prototype model and the dimensions were based on commercially supplied components. In order to manufacture the devices, it was chosen the precision casting processes: Plasma Skull Push-Pull (PSPP) and induction fusion with centrifugal injection (FCI), which proved to be quite effective. Characterization tests were performed to determine the thermal and mechanical properties of the fabricated device. The main results were a variable stiffness component with temperature, modulus of elasticity of the order of 50 GPa at body temperature and fatigue life between 103 and 106 for flexural displacement amplitudes between 0.5 mm and 2.5 mm. These thermomechanical characterization results indicate the potential of Ni-Ti SMA and precision casting processes for the production of bone fixation plates.