Solid freeform fabrication of implant components
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Publication Number
US-10485676-B2
Publication Date
2019-11-26
Expiration Date
Abstract
Disclosed are designs, methods and systems for manufacturing implants, implant components, features of implant components, and/or related tools using solid freeform fabrication or additive metals technologies.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to an additive/SFF manufacturing approach, including SLM, for patient-specific orthopedic implant components having intentionally controlled internal structures. The disclosed tibial implant component includes porous regions, internal voids/cavities, and frangible/disrupted features within implant portions and anchoring pegs.
A tibial implant component is configured so that a tibial tray can be intraoperatively separated from an anchoring peg when the anchoring peg is positioned in a patient's tibia. This separation is enabled by providing lattice or porous structures within the anchoring peg and directing a cutting tool along the bone-facing surface of the tibial tray to cut through at least a portion of the lattice or porous portion.
In another configuration, an implant component includes a first implant portion with a bone-facing surface and an anchoring peg having a porous portion extending across a cross-section. The first implant portion and the anchoring peg are integral and formed of a single material, and are configured so intraoperative separation can be performed by directing a cutting tool through at least a portion of the porous portion.
Patient-specific information is used to determine at least one dimension of the tibial tray and/or at least one dimension of the anchoring peg, with examples including electronic image data and size and/or shape information regarding a knee joint. The disclosed designs are further described as supporting porous coating design objectives and FEA-driven design and thresholding of implant thickness and weakness regions based on patient data and manufacturing considerations.
Claims Coverage
The partial content includes two independent claims. Across these, the main claim coverage centers on a tibial tray with a bone-facing separation interface directed by a cutting tool and an anchoring peg having a lattice or porous portion extending across the peg cross-section, with options for integral single-material construction and patient-specific dimensioning.
Tibial implant with lattice proximal anchoring peg for tool-directed intraoperative separation
A tibial implant component comprising a tibial tray and at least one anchoring peg extending from a bone-facing surface of the tibial tray, where the tibial tray is a substantially solid structure and the proximal portion of the anchoring peg consists of a lattice structure comprising a plurality of generally straight individual filaments extending across a cross-section of the anchoring peg, the tibial tray and the anchoring peg configured such that the tibial tray can be intraoperatively separated from the anchoring peg by directing a cutting tool along the bone-facing surface of the tibial tray and cutting through at least a portion of the lattice structure.
Integral implant portion and porous anchoring peg for intraoperative separation by cutting through porous portion
An implant component comprising a first implant portion including a substantially solid structure having a bone-facing surface, and an anchoring peg extending from the bone-facing surface with a porous portion extending across a cross-section of the anchoring peg, wherein the first implant portion and the anchoring peg are integral and formed of a single material, and wherein the first implant portion and the anchoring peg are configured such that the first implant portion can be intraoperatively separated from at least a portion of the anchoring peg by directing a cutting tool through at least a portion of the porous portion.
Overall, the claim coverage supports implant designs in which an anchoring peg includes a lattice or porous structure extending across its cross-section, and intraoperative separation of an implant portion from the anchoring peg is achieved by cutting through the lattice or porous portion with a cutting tool directed relative to a bone-facing surface. The claims also encompass integral single-material constructions and patient-specific determination of implant and/or peg dimensions through dependent claim features.
Stated Advantages
Improved intraoperative revisability during revision surgery by enabling intraoperative separation between the tibial tray and the anchoring peg.
Documented Applications
Orthopedic implant use as a tibial implant component for use in a patient's tibia, including revision surgery where intraoperative separation is performed.
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