Bone temperature estimation during orthopaedic round bur milling operations

Heat generation during orthopaedic bone cutting operations may cause thermal bone damage. During the bone cutting, the maximum temperature occurs at the point of contact between the bone and the cutting tool. However, this temperature is difficult to measure. Many researchers have attempted to measure this temperature using a thermocouple; however, limitations of the thermocouple makes it difficult to determine the maximum temperature at the point of contact. In order to solve this problem, in this study, two infrared thermometers are used to measure the fresh-milled surface temperature, and the maximum temperature was extrapolated by a moving plane heat source solution. The estimated maximum temperature increment varied from 49 to 115 °C under various cutting conditions. These results showed that the thermal damage may reach up to 1.9 mm in depth during round bur milling. A larger feed rate and a smaller cutting depth decreased the maximum temperature.