Abstract
Surgical correction of scoliosis typically uses stainless steel or titanium alloy spinal instrumentation to straighten the scoliotic spine by 70% only. Our aim is to develop a method to overcome this by using an implantable superelastic (SE) nickel-titanium (NiTi) alloy rod, which will impose a continuous gradual correction force to the spine after the surgery so as to achieve a superior correction. More than 75 specimens made of a Ti-50.0 at% Ni alloy were treated by different heat treatment routes. The Austenitic transition temperature of the NiTi alloy can be adjusted to be available at 37.5°C by altering the heat treatment parameters: time and temperature of heat treatment. The experimental results showed that the heat treatment temperature should set between 400-500°C and the heat treatment time should be less than 60 minutes for the alloy.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 321-324 |
| Journal | Materials Science Forum |
| Volume | 394-395 |
| Publication status | Published - 2002 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | Proceedings of the International Conference on Shape Memory and Superelastic Technologies and Shape Memory Materials (SMST-SMM 2001) - Kumning, China Duration: 2 Sept 2001 → 6 Sept 2001 |
Research Keywords
- Heat Treatment
- NiTi Shape-Memory Alloy
- Transformation Temperature