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US 2014/0235745 A1Published application
Oxidation-resistant and wear-resistant polyethylenes for human joint replacements and methods for making them
AssigneeOrthopaedic Hospital D/B/A Orthopaedic Institute for Children
InventorsHarry A. McKellop, Fu-Wen Shen
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Abstract
The present invention presents methods for making oxidation-resistant and wear-resistant polyethylenes and medical implants made therefrom. Preferably, the implants are components of prosthetic joints, e.g., a bearing component of an artificial hip or knee joint. The resulting oxidation-resistant and wear-resistant polyethylenes and implants are also disclosed.
Claims1
A method to improve the wear resistance of an implant made of a polyethylene, said method comprising the steps of:
- a) providing an oxidation-resistant implant;
- b) irradiating the oxidation-resistant implant at a radiation dose above standard sterilization dose but below about 100 Mrad in order to crosslink the implant to improve its wear resistance,
- wherein said oxidation-resistant implant is more resistant to oxidation than an implant machined from a reference preformed UHMWPE.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.