Joint prosthesis made from a titanium alloy
AssigneeWaldemar Link GmbH & Co. KG
InventorsSevki Baliktay, Arnold Keller
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Abstract
The invention relates to a joint prosthesis having a shaft made from a titanium alloy, in which at least the shaft is investment cast and has a body-centered cubic crystal structure. A titanium alloy having this crystal structure (known as β-titanium alloy) has an advantageously low modulus of elasticity which is well matched to the physiological demands of joint prostheses. Furthermore, implementation as a shaped casting allows a complex shape to be achieved. It is particularly embodied as a femoral prosthesis for an artificial hip joint, which has an elongate shaft with grooves and sawtooth-like projections for bone anchoring.
Claims9
A joint prosthesis, comprising:
- a shaft consisting essentially of a β-titanium alloy, at least the shaft being produced by an investment casting process and the β-titanium alloy of the shaft having a body centered cubic crystal structure and having a modulus of elasticity between 59.4 kN/mm2 and 68 kN/mm2,
- wherein the shaft is shaped for implantation into a medullary cavity of a human femur,
- wherein the β-titanium alloy consists of titanium and molybdenum, and
- wherein the β-titanium alloy has a molybdenum content in the range between 12% and 16% by weight of the alloy.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.