Advancements in Hip Implant Materials: A Comprehensive Review on the Development of Hip Implants to Achieve Enhanced Performance and Durability

The hip joint is pivotal in providing structural stability and enabling dynamic lower limbs and upper body movement. Being a ball-and-socket joint, it facilitates various movements, such as flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, and rotation, which are crucial for everyday activities, sports, and leisure. However, the hip joint might experience failure owing to various underlying factors, necessitating a total hip replacement. An ideal material for hip implant should be biocompatible, wear-resistant, corrosion-resistant, fatigue-resistant, and osteoconductive. Various materials have been used for hip implants, including metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites, each with their advantages and limitations. Some of these materials tend to fail the implants and reduce their functional life due to limitations such as cytotoxicity, corrosion, wear and rapid degradation. This requires a revision surgery that places an individual under physical and financial burden. The present article systematically explores the diverse facets of hip implants and their materials. Emphasis is laid on the significance of using Ti-based materials for implants, considering their unique properties. A thorough discussion is also presented pertaining to superelasticity, a unique property that a few Ti-based alloys possess. The paper also reviews the importance of studying different loads acting on a hip implant for pre-clinical assessment of its performance.