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PTB organized the second International DCC Conference from 01 to 03 March 2022. The conference was held as an all-digital event. The technical scope of the conference focused on current advances of the Digital Calibration Certificate (DCC), the use of the Digital SI System (D-SI), including but not limited to implementation, current applications, good practices, and middleware. Attendees from around the world were invited to share and learn a great deal about the DCC. The conference specifically targeted attendees from: - Industries - National metrology institutes and designated institutes - Accreditation bodies - Calibration laboratories

Background Metal-on-Metal (MoM) total hip arthroplasties (THA) are associated with pseudotumor formation and high revision rates. This prospective study analysed the clinical and wear analyses of 9 large Metal-on-Metal (MoM) total hip arthroplasties (THA) to understand the underlying mechanisms of failure. The MoM bearings were revised for multiple reasons; the main reason was pseudotumor formation. Materials and Methods From 2006 till 2010 the Reinier de Graaf Hospital implanted 160 large head M2a-Magnum™ (Biomet Inc. Warsaw, Indiana, USA) THAs in 150 patients. The first year, 9 bearings were revised and analysed at the Biomechanics Section, Hamburg University of Technology, Germany. We performed clinical (Harris Hip Score, radiographic analysis, blood cobalt and chromium) and wear analysis (implant, tissue and fluid) of the 9 bearings. Since this study did not fall under the scope of the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act in The Netherlands, no ethical approval was necessary. In this prospective study all patient details were anonymized by the corresponding author, all other authors were blinded during the research and wear analyses. Patients with bilateral MoM implants were excluded. Results The 9 bearings had a median (IQR) survival of 41.0 (25) months in situ. From these bearings, three showed no noticeable wear. The median (IQR) head wear volume was 3.2 (3.6) mm3 and maximum wear depth 0.02 (0.02) mm. For the cup the median (IQR) wear volume was 0.23 (0.3) mm3 with a maximum wear depth of 0.03 (0.05) mm. Conclusion An early identification of parameters related to failure of the MoM THA, such as pain, decreased range of motion, radiographic changes and high levels of blood cobalt and chromium is of great importance for patient’s quality of life. Especially now patients and surgeons face the long term effects of all these bearings still in situ. This study reports the clinical and wear analyses of 9 MoM THA. In the majority of this group the reason for revision was pseudotumor formation. Most bearings showed signs of wear, however with a great diversity in clinical analysis, in inclination angle, serum cobalt and chromium levels as well as wear analysis. For a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms related with failure, more wear analyses of revised MoM bearings are necessary as well as a frequent follow-up of the patients with a MoM bearing.

Corrosion of modular taper junctions of hip implants may be associated with clinical failure. Taper design parameters, as well as the intraoperatively applied assembly forces, have been proposed to affect corrosion. Fretting corrosion is related to relative interface shear motion and fluid ingress, which may vary with contact force and area. It was hypothesised in this study that assembly forces modify the extent and distribution of the surface contact area at the taper interface between a cobalt chrome head and titanium stem taper with a standard threaded surface profile. Local abrasion of a thin gold coating applied to the stem taper prior to assembly was used to determine the contact area after disassembly. Profilometry was then used to assess permanent deformation of the stem taper surface profile. With increasing assembly force (500 N, 2000 N, 4000 N and 8000 N) the number of stem taper surface profile ridges in contact with the head taper was found to increase (9.2±9.3%, 65.4±10.8%, 92.8±6.0% and 100%) and the overall taper area in contact was also found to increase (0.6±0.7%, 5.5±1.0%, 9.9±1.1% and 16.1±0.9%). Contact was inconsistently distributed over the length of the taper. An increase in plastic radial deformation of the surface ridges (-0.05±0.14 μm, 0.1±0.14 μm, 0.21±0.22 μm and 0.96±0.25 μm) was also observed with increasing assembly force. The limited contact of the taper surface ridges at lower assembly forces may influence corrosion rates, suggesting that the magnitude of the assembly force may affect clinical outcome. The method presented provides a simple and practical assessment of the contact area at the taper interface.

Hybride Photovoltaik ist eine neue Technologie, die die Vorteile organischer und anorganischer Solarzellen vereinen soll. Die hier vorliegende Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit der Frage nach den Ursachen für Unterschiede in der Performanz von hybriden und rein organischen Solarzellen. Dabei wurde lichtinduzierte Elektronen-Spin-Resonanzspektroskopie (l-ESR), sowie ladungsbasierte transiente Störstellenspektroskopie an Hybridschichten eingesetzt, um den Einfluss von organischen Stabilisatormolekülen auf Defekte der Nanopartikel zu untersuchen. Im zweiten Teil wird mittels l-ESR die Existenz von Ladungstransferzuständen in Hybrid-Schichten gezeigt. Im abschließenden Teil der Arbeit werden alternative Konzepte zur Verbesserung hybrider Solarzellen vorgestellt und erste Ergebnisse davon präsentiert. Zusammenfassend konnten verschiedene limitierende Faktoren in hybriden Solarzellen gefunden und charakterisiert werden, so dass diese in künftigen Systemen berücksichtigt werden können.