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"What, sir, would you make a ship sail against the wind and currents by lighting a bonfire under her deck? I pray you, excuse me, I have not the time to listen to such nonsense."
Napoleon Bonaparte ; When told of the Robert Fulton steamboat
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5954727 | Acetabular cup positioning tool and method of positioning an acetabular cup A positioning tool has an elongated cylindrical section for reversibly engaging an acetabular cup which is insertable through a posterior opening in the cup. The outer diameter of a proximal portion of the cylindrical section is expandable to engage the i... | 09/21/1999 |
| 5911723 | Surgical apparatus A surgical tensioning apparatus has a base, first and second bone tissue engaging elements mounted on the base and being displaceable toward and away from each other. One of the tissue engaging elements being adapted to be oriented by the tissue engaged t... | 06/15/1999 |
| 5891144 | External fixator An external fixator including at least two groups of pins inserted respectively on either side of the fracture. Two vices are used for securing the pins to two hinge elements. The hinge elements are used to connect and orient the vices in relation to an e... | 04/06/1999 |
| 5879402 | Method and apparatus for implanting an acetabular cup A method of implanting an acetabular cup which includes the step of preparing an acetabular socket to receive a cup, placing cement in the acetabular socket before or after locating a tube in line with the acetabular socket and inserting the acetabular cu... | 03/09/1999 |
| 5879387 | Prosthetic bearing element and method of manufacture A prosthetic bearing element comprises a backing which supports a bearing liner having a bearing surface. The backing is made from a "hard" polymeric material having a minimum hardness value of 55 N/mm2 and the bearing liner is made from a "sof... | 03/09/1999 |
| 5879394 | Tibial element for a replacement knee prosthesis A tibial element is provided for a replacement knee prosthesis which comprises a tibial tray provided with a bearing component having medial and lateral compartments. Control means acting between the tray and the bearing component are included which provi... | 03/09/1999 |
| 5807396 | Bone plate with conical holes An osteosynthesis device comprises a plate and screws which are screwed into bone through holes in the plate. The diameters of the holes at the top face of the plate are larger than at the bottom face of the plate. The screws have a spherical head which, ... | 09/15/1998 |
| 5800559 | Coated femoral stem prosthesis A femoral hip component for use in hip arthroplasty has a stem portion for contact with bone cement. The stem portion is formed from a biocompatible material having a surface finish of less than about four microinches. This surface is coated with a unifor... | 09/01/1998 |
| 5788704 | Apparatus and method for implanting a prothesis An apparatus for performing prosthesis surgery has a phantom implant component. Elements are provided for holding said phantom component accurately and stationary relative to a cavity in a bone. The phantom component has a tapered insert portion, the dime... | 08/04/1998 |
| 5766178 | Bone plug The plug is made of a plastic material and acts as a cement barrier for openings produced by an operative procedure in medullated bones. The plug is clamped between the side walls of the opening of the bone by means of elastic flanges and prevents the bon... | 06/16/1998 |
| 5752954 | External fixation device An articulation element for the relative positioning of fixation bars or bone pins of an external fixator includes a plurality of pairs of jaws. The jaws have on their adjacent faces grooves which form a passage intended to receive a bar or a pin. A sprin... | 05/19/1998 |
| 5728748 | Non oxidizing polymeric medical implant A medical implant made of polymeric material having an increased oxidation resistance is formed by a method including the steps of placing a resin powder in a sealed container. A substantial portion of the oxygen is removed from the sealed container by ei... | 03/17/1998 |
| 5716362 | Patella milling instrument A patella milling instrument has a planar base with a fixed patellar clamping element formed thereon. A movable patellar milling element is slidably mounted on the base and is movable towards and away from the fixed clamping element. A drive element is op... | 02/10/1998 |
| 5690226 | Air-impermeable packaging for medical implants A sealed airtight container and a method for forming the same produces an increased resistance between the seal and a flange on the container to pressure differences between the inside of the container and the outside environment. The container includes a... | 11/25/1997 |
| 5688282 | Distraction apparatus for a knee A space correction apparatus is provided for a knee prosthesis comprising a body and two pairs of parallel runners extending on both sides of the body in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the body and of which the spacing of the front and back par... | 11/18/1997 |
| 5665121 | Preformed mantle A prosthesis having attachment portion for insertion into or attachment to a patient's bone without bone cement. Parts of the attachment portion on the prosthesis are attached to the bone are covered with a mantle of synthetic resin material and which has... | 09/09/1997 |
| 5658292 | Instrumentation for preparing a distal femur A method and apparatus for preparing a planar surface on the distal femur prior to implantation of a femoral knee prosthesis has a femoral plate with an opening therein for exposing both condyles of the femur. A guide with a central aperture is used to al... | 08/19/1997 |
| 5658351 | Intramedullary centralizer A centralizer for the stem of a cementable prosthetic orthopedic implant that is implanted into the medullary canal of a bone has a hollow annular body with a tapered interior surface for receiving a tapered stem of the implant. The centralizer has four f... | 08/19/1997 |
| 5650485 | Non-oxidizing polymeric medical implant A medical implant made of polymeric material having an increased oxidation resistance is formed by a method including the steps of placing a resin powder in a sealed container. A substantial portion of the oxygen is removed from the sealed container by ei... | 07/22/1997 |
| 5643258 | Device for stabilizing long bones A device for stabilizing a long bone combines an external fixator with a locking nail implanted in the medullary canal of a long bone. The external fixator has fixed bone pins at each of its ends and movable bone pins intermediate its ends. The fixed bone... | 07/01/1997 |
| 5630819 | Acetabular bone graft impactor An acetabular bone graft impactor comprising a contact surface at least part of which is located on a head connected to a shaft provided with and anvil to be hit with a hammer. A flange extends from the head so that the contact surface shape can be select... | 05/20/1997 |
| 5609644 | Prosthetic patello femoral joint assembly A prosthetic patello femoral joint assembly comprises a patella mounting component on which is located a movable mobile bearing component. A first side of the bearing component is shaped to engage the patella groove of a natural or an artificial femur. A ... | 03/11/1997 |
| 5609646 | Acetabular cup for a total hip prosthesis An acetabular cup for a total hip prosthesis has an outer shell and an inner bearing component. The shell is molded around the inner bearing component and has an elastic modulus similar to subchondral bone of between 5 GPa and 18 GPa. The shell has a part... | 03/11/1997 |
| 5607431 | Prosthetic hip implantation method and apparatus A surgical instrument system for preparing the medullary canal of the femur for implanting a prosthetic femoral component includes a template to be used in determining osteotomy position from an x-ray. A gauge is provided to locate and mark this position ... | 03/04/1997 |
| 5593452 | Coated femoral stem prosthesis A femoral hip component for use in hip arthroplasty has a stem portion for contact with bone cement. The stem portion is formed from a biocompatible material having a surface finish of less than about four microinches. This surface is coated with a unifor... | 01/14/1997 |
| 5543471 | Non-oxidizing polymeric medical implant A medical implant made of polymeric material having an increased oxidation resistance is formed by a method including the steps of placing a resin powder in a sealed container. A substantial portion of the oxygen is removed from the sealed container by ei... | 08/06/1996 |
| 5527317 | Method and apparatus for implanting an acetabular cup A method of implanting an acetabular cup includes preparing an acetabular socket to receive said cup, placing cement in said socket before or after locating a loading tube in line with the socket and inserting the acetabular cup through the tube into said... | 06/18/1996 |
| 5524695 | Cast bone ingrowth surface An orthopaedic implant comprising a cast metal base member having an outer surface and an ingrowth surface comprising a plurality of attachment spacer elements of unequal lengths integrally cast with said base member and a metal attachment element integra... | 06/11/1996 |
| 5458651 | Femoral component for a hip prosthesis A femoral component of a replacement hip joint has a collarless stem including a shoulder for fixing in a medullary canal by cement. The component has a stem beneath the shoulder having a straight taper and the anterior and posterior faces of the stem eac... | 10/17/1995 |
| 5454816 | Femoral cutting guide An orthopedic instrument for guiding a saw blade for preparing the distal end of a human femur to receive an endoprosthetic femoral component has a base component provided with guide for guiding cutting blades. The guide can be used to shape all of the ne... | 10/03/1995 |
| 5443513 | Composite orthopedic implant A beam adapted for implantation within a bone is able to support bending and torsional loading forces applied thereto. The beam has a stiffness defined by a modulus elasticity, which stiffness varies along the length of the beam to match the corresponding... | 08/22/1995 |
| 5441537 | Bone prosthesis with porous coating An improved metallic bone prosthesis having a porous coating for bone ingrowth or interlocking with bone cement is disclosed. The porous coating comprises two layers of generally ball-shaped metallic particles bonded together at their points of contact, e... | 08/15/1995 |
| 5417696 | Acetabular cup positioning insert with release mechanism An acetabular cup for use as a prosthetic implant has an insert with a body including a central bore for receiving a positioning rod therein. A key element is formed on the bore and is adapted to align the positioning rod. The insert has a locating elemen... | 05/23/1995 |
| 5417695 | Instrumentation for preparing a distal femur A method and apparatus for preparing a planar surface on the distal femur prior to implantation of a femoral knee prosthesis has a femoral plate with an opening therein for exposing both condyles of the femur. A guide with a central aperture is used to al... | 05/23/1995 |
| 5414049 | Non-oxidizing polymeric medical implant A medical implant made of polymeric material having an increased oxidation resistance is formed by a method including the steps of placing a resin powder in a sealed container. A substantial portion of the oxygen is removed from the sealed container by ei... | 05/09/1995 |
| 5413605 | Tibial element for a replacement knee prosthesis A prosthetic tibial component has a tibial tray having an underside for engaging a prepared tibial plateau. The tibial component has a stem having a tapered connection at one end. The stem has a non-symmetrically shaped bone engagement element extending t... | 05/09/1995 |
| 5397322 | Manipulator for external bone fixation devices A manipulator for reducing a bone fracture has adjustable elements for manipulating external fixation devices which are connected to the bone segments on either side of the fracture. The manipulator includes a circular sector having a first half sector po... | 03/14/1995 |
| 5393161 | External fixator By virtue of its modular construction, this external fixator makes it possible to position the pins (21 to 25) in the bone fragments (11 to 13) taking account of anatomical criteria. The pins are at least indirectly integral with universal joints (36 to 3... | 02/28/1995 |
| 5358534 | Femoral component for a hip prosthesis A femoral component for a hip prosthesis has a distal portion defining a central longitudinal axis. The component has a generally conically shaped mid-shaft portion and a proximal portion with a shape based on the reamer and a shaped chisel used by the su... | 10/25/1994 |
| 5352227 | Intercalary device A kit for coupling two bone segments has a first longitudinally extending intercalary element with a first end for insertion into the medullary canal of one of the bone segments and a second end in the form of a male conically tapered section, The kit als... | 10/04/1994 |
