Self-powered artificial joint wear debris sensor based on triboelectric nanogenerator

Highlights: • The TENG-based sensor is fabricated in artificial joint by thermo-compression. • The self-powered sensor can in-situ detect the amount and size of wear debris. • The real-time wear debris monitoring is achieved in joint wear simulator. Replacing the diseased joints with artificial prostheses has long been a common medical mean to alleviate pain or disability, in which the wear debris-induced aseptic loosening is the main mechanism for failure of artificial joint replacement. Timely and in situ detection of the wear debris is necessary to prevent further deterioration of the joint, and provides a basis for the lifetime diagnosis of artificial joint. Here, a self-powered sensor based on triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) was developed for detecting wear debris generated in artificial joint. The TENG with polyethylene film and steel ball was designed into artificial joint configuration and fabricated by thermo-compression, which could in-situ detect the production of wear debris. Furthermore, the dependence of electrical output signals on the amount and size of the debris was investigated, which demonstrated obvious decrease in voltage with the increase in the amount and size of the particles. Finally, the fabricated sensor was tested in joint wear simulator, which achieved the real-time wear debris monitoring. This work expands the application of TENG in artificial joint wear detection, which is expected to promote the development of biomedical sensor and intelligent healthcare.