IP Library Granted Patent US 7,153,326
Granted Patent B1
US 7,153,326 · App. 10/465,056 · Granted Dec 26, 2006

Method and apparatus for use of an offset stem connection

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,153,326
App. No.
10/465,056
Granted
Dec 26, 2006
Kind
B1
Abstract

A modular tibial component for a knee joint prosthesis providing an offset. The modular tibial component includes a tray, a stem, an adapter and a flexible fastener. The tray includes a tapered extension having a generally frusto-conical shape. The stem includes a finned surface and an extension having a generally frusto-conical shape. The adapter connects the tray and the stem while providing an offset therebetween. The adapter includes a first generally frusto-conical cavity receiving the tapered extension of the tray and a second generally frusto-conical cavity receiving the upwardly extension of the stem. The flexible fastener is inserted through an aperture in the tray and a cavity in the adapter and fastened to the stem.

Claims (39)

1. A modular assembly for a joint prosthesis comprising:

an implant base having a first coupling portion;

a stem operable to engage a canal of a bone, the stem having a main body portion and a second coupling portion;

an adapter body configured to establish a relative offset between the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion; and

a flexible fastener interconnecting the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion, including:

a flexible shaft having a first end and a second end;

a first connecting portion connected to the first end; and

a second connecting portion connected to the second end;

wherein the flexible fastener is operable to have the first end on a different axis than the second end.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the second connecting portion comprises a tapered head.

3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the first connecting portion is threaded to threadably engage with an internally threaded aperture formed within the first coupling portion.

4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the flexible shaft comprises:

at least one longitudinal wire extending from the first end to the second end;

an inner spiral wire wrapped around the longitudinal wire from the first end to the second end; and

an outer spiral wire wrapped around the inner spiral wire from the first end to the second end.

5. The assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of adapter bodies, wherein each adapter body has a preselected offset.

6. The assembly of claim 5 , wherein the preselected offset of each adapter body is within the range of about 0 mm to about 10 mm.

7. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the flexible fastener is interposed within a cavity of the adapter body.

8. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the adapter body defines a first cavity receiving the first coupling portion, a second cavity receiving the second coupling portion, and a central cavity intersecting the first cavity and the second cavity.

9. The assembly of claim 8 , wherein the first coupling portion has an outer frusto-conical surface configured to mate with an interior surface of the adapter body, the interior surface defining at least a portion of the first cavity.

10. The assembly of claim 8 , wherein the second coupling portion has an outer frusto-conical surface configured to mate with an interior surface of the adapter body, the interior surface defining at least a portion of the second cavity.

11. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first coupling portion has an inner frusto-conical surface configured to mate with an exterior surface of the adapter body.

12. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the second coupling portion has an inner frusto-conical surface configured to mate with an exterior surface of the adapter body.

13. The assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a first component and a second component, wherein the implant base defines at least a portion of the first component.

14. The assembly of claim 13 , wherein the first component is a tibial component and the second component is a femoral component.

15. An orthopedic implant operable to be positioned relative to a femur and a tibia in an anatomy, comprising:

a tibial tray operable to extend from the tibia having a first coupling;

a stem operable to be positioned in an intramedullary canal of the tibia and having a second coupling;

an adapter having a third coupling that couples to the first coupling and a fourth coupling that couples to the second coupling, wherein the third coupling defines a first axis and the fourth coupling defines a second axis, the adapter operable to be interposed between the first coupling and the second coupling; and

a fastener operable to engage at least one of the tibial tray, the stem, the adapter, or combinations thereof extend through the adapter, wherein the fastener extends between a first end and a second end such that the first end is aligned with the first axis and the second end is aligned with the second axis;

wherein the fastener includes a first engaging portion and a second engaging portion and a flexible shank interconnecting the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion and secures the tibial tray to the stem through the adapter.

16. The implant of claim 15 , wherein the first coupling defines a male taper.

17. The implant of claim 16 , wherein the second coupling defines a male taper.

18. The implant of claim 15 , wherein the adapter defines a male taper.

19. The implant of claim 15 , wherein the first axis is offset from the second axis in a range of about 0 mm to about 10 mm.

20. The implant of claim 15 , wherein the fastener is interposed through a cavity in the adapter.

21. The implant of claim 15 , further comprising a first component that articulates with a second component, wherein the first portion, the second portion, the adapter and the fastener define at least a portion of the first component.

22. The implant of claim 21 , wherein the first component is a tibial component and the second component is a femoral component.

23. The orthopedic implant of claim 15 , wherein the first axis does not extend along the second axis.

Assignments (4)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS RECORDED AT REEL 020362/ FRAME 0001 Recorded Nov 23, 2015
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: LVB ACQUISITION, INC.; BIOMET, INC.
Reel/Frame 037155/0133 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Jun 21, 2013
From: BIOMET MANUFACTURING CORPORATION
To: BIOMET MANUFACTURING, LLC
Reel/Frame 030656/0702 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Dec 10, 2007
From: LVB ACQUISITION, INC.; BIOMET, INC.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT FOR THE SECURED PARTIES
Reel/Frame 020362/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 19, 2003
From: METZGER, ROBERT
To: BIOMET MANUFACTURING CORP.
Reel/Frame 014205/0089 →