Biomet Cement and Cementing Systems

Vacuum Mixing & Delivery

Mixing and collecting under vacuum

Mixing under vacuum reduces cement’s microporosity, but it has less effect on macroporosity. A study showed that while vacuum mixing is superior to hand mixing at reducing overall porosity, not all vacuum systems are effective at eliminating large pores.

The study concluded that “to be effective, a vacuum mixing system should allow mixing and collection of bone cement under high vacuum.” ^7,22Vacuum mixing reduces unbounded particles.

Vacuum mixing has the following advantages:

Reduces cement porosity
Reduction of unbounded particles
Increases tension, bending and fatigue strength
Reduces air exposure to methylmethacrylate
Reduces skin contact and sensitizing risk

Continuous vacuum – from mixing to collection – prevents macropore entrapment in high viscosity cement. Studies have shown conclusively that the Optivac system produces a cement of much lower macroporosity and stronger mechanical properties than cement mixed in other vacuum mixing systems.^7,8,19

The reason for the Optivac’s success is its patented design, which allows for cement collection under vacuum. This ability makes the Optivac the only system currently on the market capable of reducing cement macroporosity and producing consistently high cement quality.^6,7,8,20,28