Process for the preparation of bone cement
AssigneeMerck Patent Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung
InventorsHeinrich Planck, Christoph Elser, Albrecht Grieben, Werner Ege
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A process for the preparation of bone cement for subsequent introduction into the cavity of a bone serving to receive a prosthesis. The components serving for the production of the bone cement are introduced into a cartridge and mixed together during a mixing phase and subsequently undergo a further resting phase. The mixing phase and the resting phase are under automatic program control.
Claims13
A process for the preparation of bone cement for subsequent introduction into a cavity of a bone of a patient prepared to receive a prosthesis, wherein the bone cement is prepared in an apparatus including a sterile cartridge, stirrer and automatic controller, from components including at least one fluid material and a pulverized material, the process comprising the steps of:
- incorporating, with a data carrier associated with the cartridge, data specifying the type and amount of bone cement to be produced;
- reading the data into the automatic controller by inserting the sterile cartridge and associated data carrier into a holding apparatus of a receiver in the apparatus provided for receiving the sterile cartridge and being connected to the automatic controller;
- charging the sterile cartridge with the components in the amount and type specified by the data incorporated in the data carrier;
- under automatic control, beginning polymerization of the components into bone cement by stirring the components in the sterile cartridge with a stirrer during a mixing phase;
- under automatic control, allowing the mixed components to rest in a resting phase for a selected duration of time to achieve a selected state of polymerization;
- and
- reducing the pressure in the cartridge while the components are in at least one of the phrases to produce bone cement available for introduction into the cavity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.