Modular knee replacement system
OwnerAlan C. Merchantinventor
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Abstract
A trochlear implant for a prosthetic knee, a prosthetic knee system and a method for using the prosthetic knee system are disclosed. The trochlear implant mounts to the knee end of a femur and cooperates with a patellar implant mounted to the back side of a patella. The patellar implant is a component of a prosthesis including a femoral implant for replacing the knee end of the femur. The trochlear implant has an articulation surface shaped to slidably receive a portion of the patellar implant. The articulation surface is substantially similar in shape to a portion of a surface of the femoral implant such that the patellar implant is capable of being used with the femoral implant and the trochlear implant.
Claims10
A prosthetic knee system comprising:
- a patellar implant implantable on the rear of the patient's patella, said patella implant having a bearing surface;
- a trochlear implant implantable on the knee end of a patient's femur, said trochlear implant having an articulation surface which engages the bearing surface of the patellar implant;
- and
- a femoral prosthesis implantable in the knee end of a patient's femur in place of the trochlear implant, said femoral prosthesis having a bearing surface which engages the bearing surface of the patellar implant and a prosthetic tibial component, wherein the contour of the bearing surface of the femoral prosthesis is shaped identically to a portion of the articulation surface of the trochlear implant which engages the bearing surface of the patellar implant;
- wherein the bearing surface of the patellar implant is shaped to provide area contact and congruent engagement with both the articulation surface of the trochlear implant and the bearing surface of the femoral prosthesis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.