484 results about "Hip region" patented technology

The surgical device according to the invention comprises both means for per-operative measurement and for memorization of a plurality of positions of a given femoral prosthetic direction and means for per-operative comparison of these positions with the cone of mobility of the prosthesis to be implanted, the position of the axis of revolution of this cone being, during the implantation of the prosthesis, adjustable with respect to the zone of the pelvis where the implantation of an acetabulum of the prosthesis is provided. By using this device, the surgeon can easily and rapidly determine, in the course of the surgical operation, a preferential direction for implanting the prosthetic acetabulum in order to reduce the subsequent risks of dislocations of the implanted prosthesis.

Provided are a device and a method for stabilizing two or more vertebrae by joining the vertebrae with a flexible device. The flexible device is of unitary construction and includes anchor posts constructed and arranged for insertion into holes drilled into the vertebrae, preferably after removing all or a portion of the pedicles from the target vertebrae. Removal of the pedicles provides an acceptable fastening site, prevents interference with the device by the pedicles, and provides native donor bone tissue, thereby obviating the need for a second surgery to harvest bone tissue from a different site, such as the hip.

Implantable prosthetic devices are provided for controlled drug delivery, for orthopedic and dental applications. The device may include a prosthetic device body having at least one outer surface area; two or more discrete reservoirs located in spaced apart positions across at least a portion of the outer surface area, the reservoirs formed with an opening at the surface of the device body and extending into the device body; and a release system disposed in the reservoirs which comprises at least one therapeutic or prophylactic agent, wherein following implantation into a patient the therapeutic or prophylactic agent is released in a controlled manner from the reservoirs. The prosthetic device body preferably is a joint prosthesis or part thereof, such as a hip prosthesis, a knee prosthesis, a vertebral or spinal disc prosthesis, or part thereof. Optional reservoir caps may further control release kinetics.

A trial system for an acetabular prosthesis is described. The acetabular prosthesis is generally for implantation in an acetabulum and surrounding pelvis. The acetabular prosthesis includes an acetabular cup having a substantially concave inner surface and a substantially convex outer surface. The described acetabular prosthesis is especially useful in revision hip implant procedures where significant bone tissue loss has occurred either in or around the acetabulum and / or the pelvis. A collection of trial shells are provided to trial a range of motion of the hip joint before implanting a prosthetic shell into the acetabular prosthesis.

A trial system for a prosthesis is described. The prosthesis can include an acetabular prosthesis generally for implantation in an acetabulum and the surrounding pelvis. The acetabular prosthesis includes an acetabular cup having a substantially concave inner surface and a substantially convex outer surface. One trial shell or a collection of trial shells are provided to trial a range of motion of the hip joint before implanting a shell prosthesis into the acetabular prosthesis.

A walking assistance system includes an upper leg fitting which is attached along a user's upper leg. The upper leg fitting is formed from an upper leg frame that forms a framework of the upper leg fitting, and an upper leg coupling member that is vertically slidably supported on a guide rail provided on the upper leg frame, rotatably supported around a support shaft, and joined to the upper leg. When the upper leg fitting is made to swing in the fore-and-aft direction relative to the user's hip by a hip joint actuator, the position of the center of swing of the upper end of the upper leg fitting and the position of the hip joint are displaced, but it is possible to make the upper leg coupling member follow the upper leg by moving the upper leg coupling member relative to the upper leg frame, thus eliminating any uncomfortable sensation.

Instrumentation and method for determining the orientation of the pelvic bone during hip-replacement surgery. Instrumentation includes a pelvis frame and a pelvis level. The pelvis frame is used for performing an operation which provides preliminary information for determining the position of the pelvic bone, and includes pads which are specifically contoured for contact with the pelvic bone. The pelvis level is used in combination with the pelvis frame to determine the exact position of the patient's pelvic bone, and includes a ball level which is capable of withstanding steam sterilization.

Methods of manufacturing a custom arthroplasty resection guide or jig are disclosed herein. For example, one method may include: generating MRI knee coil two dimensional images, wherein the knee coil images include a knee region of a patient; generating MRI body coil two dimensional images, wherein the body coil images include a hip region of the patient, the knee region of the patient and an ankle region of the patient; in the knee coil images, identifying first locations of knee landmarks; in the body coil images, identifying second locations of the knee landmarks; run a transformation with the first and second locations, causing the knee coil images and body coil images to generally correspond with each other with respect to location and orientation.

A system and method for automatically determining if a remote client is a human or a computer. A set of HIP design guidelines which are important to ensure the security and usability of a HIP system are described. Furthermore, one embodiment of this new HIP system and method is based on human face and facial feature detection. Because human face is the most familiar object to all human users the embodiment of the invention employing a face is possibly the most universal HIP system so far.

In a total knee replacement (TKR), the use of a cushion element provides better wear characteristics than polyethylene (“poly”) alone. Since a metal-on-metal, metal-on-ceramic, or ceramic-on-ceramic articulating surface has better wear characteristics than metal on poly, the invention essentially provides cushioning for metal / ceramic-on-metal / ceramic joint replacements. It also allows the use of elastomers for their cushioning properties rather than their surface wear and tensile strength characteristics. The contained compressible elements could also be used as a cushion below polyethylene components, polyethylene over metal components, unicondylar knee replacements, patellar components, and prosthetic components for other parts of the body, including the hip, elbow, shoulder, wrist, and ankle.

Apparatus and methods are used to expand and / or connect disc replacement devices in situ, allowing such devices to be inserted through smaller openings including posterior as well as an anterior approaches to the spine. Other embodiments reside in nucleus replacements that do not expand within the disc space, providing improved longevity compared to existing NRs. Embodiments of the invention may be used in the cervical, thoracic, or lumbar spine. The invention may also be used in other joints such as, the knee, prosthetic knees, prosthetic hips, or other joints in the body.

The invention relates to a trochanter stabilizing device (40), especially for fixing bone fragments in the region of the hip joint (11) or for fixing the greater trochanter (12), including A) bone stabilizing means (1) consisting of a central plate (2) with at least one fixing perforation (13) for receiving a bone fixing means (20); B) a longitude bone plate (30) with a bushing (31) arranged at an angle for receiving a fixing element (50) which can be introduced into the region of the hip joint (11) fixed thereto, whereby C) at least three peripheral arms (4) originate from the central plate (2), whereby D) each peripheral arm (4) is provided with at least one hole (5) for receiving a bone fixing means (20).

An orthopedic device and method of use are provided that incorporate complex, non-spherical articulating surfaces to allow a greater available range of motion compared with existing artificial shoulder joint and artificial hip joints. According to some embodiments, complex, non-spherical articulating surfaces can be incorporated on a humeral head and / or glenoid of a shoulder prosthesis. In other embodiments, complex, non-spherical articulating surfaces can be incorporated on the acetabulum and / or femoral head of a hip prosthesis. These non-spherical surfaces can be used to adjust constraint, joint thickness, soft tissue tension, moment and arc of motion, and in doing so, influence motion.

An exercise device upon which a user generally standing upright supported by foot platforms suspended from a frame via linkages in which the linkage lengths and pivot points correspond generally to the users upper and lower legs and hip and knee joints. This device not only allows natural free and spontaneous leg movement, able to simulate such exercises as walking, jogging, running, stepping, skiing or gliding, bicycling, climbing, reverse action and various isolated leg exercises, where the exercises can be performed at random generally without the need to reconfigure the device. This device preferably includes an isolation system capable of simulating natural forces throughout the entire range of movement in the horizontal and / or vertical plane. A safety / suspension system can be provided, alone or in combination with the isolation system, to resist sudden foot movement in the same direction, yet allows a slow and controlled tilting of the linkages whereby the user may simulate uphill and downhill travel.

A lower extremity exoskeleton includes: at least one power unit; two leg supports designed to rest on the ground; two knee joints configured to allow flexion and extension between respective shank and thigh links of the leg supports; an exoskeleton trunk rotatably connectable to the leg supports; and two hip actuators configured to create torques between the exoskeleton trunk and the leg supports. In use, the hip actuators create a torque to move the leg supports backward relative to the exoskeleton trunk during a stance phase, which pushes the exoskeleton trunk forward. A second torque may be used to move the leg supports forward relative to the exoskeleton trunk into a swing phase. Additionally, a swing torque may be generated during the swing phase to move the leg support forward relative to the exoskeleton trunk. This results in decreased oxygen consumption and heart rate of a user wearing the exoskeleton.

The present invention presents methods for making oxidation-resistant and wear-resistant polyethylenes and medical implants made therefrom. Preferably, the implants are components of prosthetic joints, e.g., a bearing component of an artificial hip or knee joint. The resulting oxidation-resistant and wear-resistant polyethylenes and implants are also disclosed.

A system and method for automatically determining if a computer user is a human or an automated script. Human interactive proofs (HIPs) are currently used to deter automated registration for web services by automated computer scripts. Unfortunately, HIPs entail multiple steps (request service, receive challenge, respond to challenge) that can be burdensome. The system and method of the invention in one embodiment provides a “black-box” to potential users consisting of a challenge generator and a secret key. The challenge is generated for the user and the response can be provided as part of the service request, eliminating the need for a separate challenge from a service provider and response to the challenge.

Artificial disc replacements (ADRs), including ADRs with plate-like extensions, can be bent at the junction of the plate-like extension and the ADR Endplate (EP), which allows customization of the ADR to better fit a patient's vertebrae. A hinge joint allows customization of the ADR to fit a patient's vertebrae better. Other embodiments of the ADR contain telescoping components which allow customization of ADRs to replace two or more adjacent discs. Plate-like extensions that inter-digitate facilitate ADR insertion at two or more adjacent levels of the spine. Mechanisms to prevent screws from backing out of the plate-like projections are also disclosed. Nitinol or other shape-memory materials may be used for such purpose. Various other anti-back-out and anti-extrusion mechanisms are disclosed, all of which are applicable to non-spine applications, including long-bone plates, and total hip, knee and other joint prostheses.

A CAS system and method for measuring surgical parameters during hip replacement surgery to guide an operator in inserting a hip joint implant in a femur, comprising a first trackable reference in fixed relation with the pelvis and a registration tool. A sensor apparatus tracks the first trackable reference and the registration tool. A controller unit is connected to the sensor apparatus so as to receive tracking data for the first trackable reference and the registration tool. The controller unit has a position and orientation calculator to calculate from the tracking data a position and orientation of the pelvic trackable reference to track the pelvic frame of reference, and of the registration tool to produce a femoral frame of reference at two sequential operative steps. A reference orientation adjustor receives tracking data for the pelvic frame of reference, and the femoral frame of reference associated with the first trackable reference, to orient the femoral frame of reference in a reference orientation with respect to the pelvic frame of reference, and to produce a reference adjustment value as a function of the reference orientation. A surgical parameter calculator receives tracking data from the registration tool to calculate surgical parameters as a function of the reference adjustment value, the surgical parameters at the two sequential operative steps being related by the reference orientation.

The present invention provides a unique system and method that facilitates obtaining high performance and more secure HIPs. More specifically, the HIPs can be generated in part by caching pre-rendered characters and / or pre-rendered arcs as bitmaps in binary form and then selecting any number of the characters and / or arcs randomly to form a HIP sequence. The warp field can be pre-computed and converted to integers in binary form and can include a plurality of sub-regions. The warp field can be cached as well. Any one sub-region can be retrieved from the warp field cache and mapped to the HIP sequence to warp the HIP. Thus, the pre-computed warp field can be used to warp multiple HIP sequences. The warping can occur in binary form and at a high resolution to mitigate reverse engineering. Following, the warped HIP sequence can be down-sampled and texture and / or color can be added as well to improve its appearance.

A modular orthopedic hip prosthesis having three main components: a stem, a proximal body, and a neck. The components are removeably connectable and selectively adjustable. The neck is rotationally adjustable about the stem, and the proximal body is both rotationally and axially adjustable about the stem. A collet and locking member hold and lock the proximal body to the stem.

In order to provide a walking assistance device capable of favorably providing an assisting force for maintaining the upright posture while reducing the sense of pressure when worn by the user, a hip support member (1) of the walking assisting device, which comprises an assisting force generator (hip joint actuator 10) disposed at least on a side of a hip joint to provide an assisting force to a movement of a lower limb, is provided with: a back support (4) equipped with pads (18, 19, 20) for respectively abutting an intermediate portion between right and left erector spinae muscles, lateral outer sides of the spinae muscles and right and left iliac crests; and a belt (5) connected to the back support for tightening a lower part of the rectus abdominis muscle. In this way, a supporting force can be provided to the lumbar vertebrae to steadily keep the upright posture while reducing a resistance to a bending movement of the waist caused by the support member. Further, the drive torque from the assisting force generator can be supported by the whole hip portion and this can contribute to preventing inadvertent move of the support member.

A computer-implemented method of planning orthopaedic surgery comprises providing a library of templates representing orthopaedic prostheses, displaying and scaling one or more patient images such as X-ray images, allowing a user to reconfigure geometrical constructs displayed over the images to match the construct to anatomical features shown in the image; and selecting one or more templates from the library in accordance with parameters of the reconfigured constructs. The templates correspond to the orthopaedic prosthesis or prostheses which are most suitable for the patient. Hip replacement surgery can be planned using a single patient image. Knee surgery can be planned using two patient images showing different views of the anatomical features, in which case geometrical constructs for use with each view are provided. The library of templates is accessible via the Internet so as to be accessible by users in any location and readily updateable.

Embodiments of the invention relate to walking / running braces and to devices for enhancing locomotion, specifically human bipedal locomotion. More particularly, it relates to a controlled mechanical device which provides support of the torso via the hip sockets, reduces the metabolic energy associated with walking / running and reduces the incidence of falls caused by insufficient leg thrust. Embodiments of the invention also relates to reducing the strain and metabolic energy consumption associated with walking / running with a heavy backpack or other significant carried load.

Arrangement for ascertaining function-determining geometric parameters of a joint of a vertebrate, especially a hip or shoulder joint of a human being, in preparation for the installation of a joint replacement implant, especially a hip or shoulder socket or an associated stem implant, by means of an optical coordinate-measuring procedure, having a stereocamera or stereocamera arrangement for the spatial recording of optical transducer signals, a mobile multipoint transducer which is in the form of a movable sensor for sensing bony references in the joint region in order to determine the coordinates thereof, at least one bone-fixed multipoint transducer which is configured for rigid attachment, especially screwed or clamped attachment, (in a region sufficiently distant from the joint) to an extremity originating from the joint, especially close to the proximal end of a femur or a humerus, an interactive sequence controller for controlling the sequential registration and storage of a set of measurement point coordinates supplied by the mobile multipoint transducer and sets of measurement point coordinates recorded in a first plurality of positions of the bone-fixed multipoint transducer in a plurality of rotated positions of the extremity and their subsequent processing in accordance with a previously stored processing sequence, an evaluation unit for evaluating the sets of measurement point coordinates supplied by the multipoint transducers and recorded by the camera arrangement for the purpose of determining the geometric parameters, which comprises means for determining the transversal, vertical and sagittal body axes as well as means for carrying out an iterative procedure, especially an adjustment calculation in accordance with the least squares method, to determine the coordinates of the center of rotation of the joint, and an output unit, which is connected to the sequence controller and to the evaluation unit, for issuing manipulation proposals to an operating surgeon in accordance with the predetermined process sequence and in dependence upon the results of the determination of the geometric parameters, and for displaying the results of the evaluation.

Broaching instruments divided into multiple parts to reduce the size of incisions necessary to perform a total hip arhroplasty, minimizing trauma to tissue surrounding the hip joint. One approach is to divide the broach head into first and second segments for insertion through posterior and anterior incisions, respectively, and interconnection within the patient. Methods of preparing the proximal medullary canal of a femur for receiving a hip stem implant utilize the multi-part broaching instruments and two-incision techniques to introduce the broaching instruments into the patient for broaching the canal in preparation for receiving the implant.

A method and apparatus for performing a minimally invasive total hip arthroplasty including an acetabular cup inserter is provided. The cup inserter is utilized for securing a prosthetic acetabular component thereto for implantation into a hip joint. The acetabular cup inserter includes a frame having an offset frame leg to allow for placement of an acetabular cup in the correct anteversion and abduction without interference from soft tissue.

An animal lifting device and method is provided. In particular, a hip member and a chest member are provided that have handles thereon. The chest member and the hip member may be selectively interconnected to each other with an interconnection member. The chest member may include an upper portion, shoulder pads, a chest pad, a center cross member, and an adjustable strap. The hip member may include an upper portion, an adjustable sling, and adjustable straps.