Thorite provides pneumatic power for innovative shoulder joint testing rig 

Reverse shoulder joint replacement is an increasingly common surgical intervention. However there are concerns in relation to such joint replacement, while novel designs of reverse shoulder prostheses continue to appear on the market. Many claim to offer improvements over older designs but such assertions are difficult to validate when there is no agreement as to how such implants should be tested in the laboratory - or even if such testing is necessary. 

In order to permit appropriate laboratory testing of all types of reverse shoulder prostheses a unique, multi-station test rig has been designed by Dr Simon Smith and built under the direction of of Professor Tom Joyce in the School Of Mechanical and Systems Engineering at Newcastle University, with help from the North Shields Sales & Service Centre of Thorite, the UK's biggest distributor of pneumatic products & process systems. 

The new test rig is capable of applying motion in three axes to test prostheses. Known as The Newcastle Shoulder Wear Simulator, it uses three Thorite-supplied Norgren pneumatic cylinders with integral position encoders to move five prosthetic shoulder joint units simultaneously in the flexion-extension, abduction-adduction (arm raising and lowering) and internal-external rotation axes. Axial loading is applied to each artificial shoulder joint using an SMC pneumatic cylinder, the compressed air to these five cylinders being supplied from an SMC proportional valve via a manifold, again from Thorite, which also supplies the sixth static control station. 

The axial loading cylinders are double acting and back pressure serves as an air spring to remove loading on the prostheses as required. The simulator is programmed in LabView and two instrument controllers are used to control the pneumatic system. Closed loop feedback is used for the three motion axes, while Open loop feedback is used to control the loading, which has been demonstrated to be highly reliable. 

Speaking of the capabilities of the test rig Professor Joyce said:

"The shoulder simulator can be important in several ways. Firstly, it can allow weaknesses in current designs of reverse shoulder prosthesis to be pinpointed and fed back to the designers and manufacturers so that the implants can be improved. Secondly, the performance of different designs of reverse shoulder prosthesis can be compared in the simulator and this data shared with interested scientists, clinicians, patients and engineers. Thirdly, the simulator will permit novel designs of reverse shoulder prosthesis to be tested in the laboratory prior to implantation in human subjects. Together, all of these benefits offer opportunities to improve artificial shoulder joints for the increasing number of patients requiring such implants." 

Further Information: Ross Gowler

Thorite Marketing and Engineering Services Director

Tel: 01274 663471.

Email:ross.gowler@thorite.co.uk

Web:www.thorite.co.uk 

Note to Editors

A family owned business since its foundation in 1850, Thorite has grown to become theUK's largestdistributor of pneumatic products and process systems. From its head office in Bradford, which also houses the company's state of the art National Distribution Centre, showroom and trade sales centre, Thorite has expanded to create a regional network of pneumatics Sales and Service Centres in Blackburn, Bolton, Doncaster, Huddersfield, Leeds, Rochdale, Sheffield, North Shields and the West Midlands. 

Thorite, Thorite House, Laisterdyke, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD4 8BZ.