The invention reduces wear in total joint articulations by modifications of the shape of either component of the kinematic pair, so as to result in an annular surface contact between the two components. Fluid trapped between the two components within the inner contour of the annular contact area is pressurized under load due to elastic deformation of the components and exuded out through inter-articular gap over the surface of contact, aiding in lubrication and reducing the wear. Reduced to practice for a total hip joint with UHMWPE-metal pair, the wear rate tested in a hip joint simulator up to five million cycles was reduced by factor seven to fifteen compared to conventionally shaped components.

The invention relates to a joint implant part of a joint endoprosthesis. The joint implant part comprises at least one first volume region, at least one second volume region and at least one third volume region. The at least one first volume region defines a bone contact surface region with at least one bone contact surface. The at least one second volume region defines a joint surface region with at least one joint surface. The at least one third volume region comprises neither a bone contact surface nor a joint surface. A modulus of elasticity in the at least one first and/or in the at least one second and/or in the at least one third volume region changes continuously or substantially continuously or discontinuously in at least one spatial direction.

A computerized system and method to assess joint level biomechanics and fixation level biomechanics of joint arthroplasty devices. At least one computing device, configured by executing instructions stored on non-transitory processor readable media receives preoperative medical information of a person requiring joint arthroplasty. Further, the at least one computing device determines, as a function of at least some of the preoperative medical information of the person, at least one of bony geometries, insertion, and origin of soft tissues respectively associated with the person. Furthermore, the at least one computing device accesses at least one musculoskeletal model including at least one of a bone, an implant, and soft tissue, wherein at least an aspect of the model includes a deformable body.

A method for preoperatively characterizing an individual patients biomechanic function in preparation of implanting a prosthesis is provided. The method includes subjecting a patient to various activities, recording relative positions of anatomy during said various activities, measuring force environments responsive to said patient's anatomy and affected area during said various activities, characterizing the patient's biomechanic function from said relative positions and corresponding force environments, inputting the measured force environments, relative positions of knee anatomy, and patient's biomechanic function characterization into one or more computer simulation models, inputting a computer model of the prosthesis into said one or more computer simulation models, and manipulating the placement of the prosthesis in the computer simulation using said patient's biomechanic function characterization and said computer model of the prosthesis to approximate a preferred biomechanical fit of the prosthesis.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to design methods for designing the surface of an individually customized implant for cartilage repair, comprising receiving image data representing a three dimensional image of a joint, identifying cartilage damage in the image data, determining the position of an implant to be used for cartilage repair, simulating a healthy surface at the determined implant position, and designing the surface of the implant to match the simulated healthy surface.

A prosthetic joint includes: (a) a first member comprising rigid material and having a perimeter flange defined by an undercut groove, the flange defining a wear-resistant first contact surface having a protruding rim; (b) a second member comprising rigid material and having a perimeter flange defined by an undercut groove, the flange defining a wear-resistant, second contact surface having a protruding rim; and (c) a third member comprising rigid material positioned between the first and second members, the third member defining opposed wear-resistant third and fourth contact surfaces; (d) wherein the first and second contact surfaces bear against the third and fourth contact surfaces, to transfer loads through the member, while allowing pivoting motion between the first and second members; (e) wherein the flanges can deform elastically such that the first and second contact surfaces conform to the third and fourth contact surfaces.

A system and method for planning and simulating a surgical operation to create a patient-specific spinal implant are disclosed. The system comprises a remote server configured to receive patient-specific medical image data and generate a 3D mesh model of the patient's spine using algorithms that separate vertebral bodies, remove artifacts, and smooth surfaces. A doctor's computer receives the 3D mesh model and allows real-time manipulation of intervertebral spaces to achieve a desired spinal curvature. The server generates a spinal implant design with surface-mapped endplates matching the patient's vertebral anatomy, which is transmitted to a 3D printer for manufacturing. The method includes steps of receiving image data, generating and updating the 3D mesh model based on doctor input, generating the final implant design, and transmitting it for production. The invention enables the creation of patient-specific spinal implants with improved conformity and surgical outcomes.

A porous implant design method includes defining a design volume for a porous implant, a load to be borne by the design volume, and an objective function solution characteristic related to the design volume. Next, the load is divided into a plurality of sub-loads and an optimization procedure is performed: until all sub-loads have been applied, one of the plurality of sub-loads is applied to the material in the design volume, material from the design volume is removed such that remaining material within the design volume is capable of bearing one of the plurality of sub-loads while satisfying the objection function solution characteristic; the remaining material defines a void space without material, the void space is set as a new design volume for any remaining sub-loads, the new design volume is set as being full of material. Then, the remaining material from each cycle of the optimization is combined.

The present disclosure discloses a zonal trabecular femoral condylar component containing zirconium-niobium alloy with an oxidation layer and a preparation method thereof. The preparation method is as follows: using zirconium-niobium alloy powder as a raw material, conducting a 3D printing for one-piece molding, and obtaining intermediate products of the zonal trabecular femoral condylar component containing zirconium-niobium alloy with the oxidation layer, after Sinter-HIP, cryogenic cooling and surface oxidation, the zonal trabecular femoral condylar component containing zirconium-niobium alloy with the oxidation layer is prepared. Partial of the zonal trabecular femoral condylar component containing zirconium-niobium alloy with the oxidation layer is provided with Zonal trabecula.

The present invention relates to a method for interactively designing via an implant design platform an artificial joint implant for hip arthroplasty and corresponding broaching and osteotomy guide apparatuses. The proposed implant design platform reconstructs the anatomy of the patient's pelvic and femoral bones in a 3D digital environment, and accordingly develops a patient-specific femoral implant stem as well as patient-specific surgical tools broach/rasp, osteotomy guide) used in total 10 hip arthroplasty. The patient-specific femoral implant stem developed may be optimized to ensure optimum mechanical performance for the patient, employing complex internal lattices that minimize stress shielding and advanced trabecular surfaces to promote osseointegration.