Sulzer Brothers Limited

Protek Ag

Sulzer Medizinaltechnik Ag

Allo Pro Ag

Rudolf Koch

Otto Frey

Hans-Georg Willert

Roland Willi

Hans Fluckiger

Stefan Freudiger

Lorenzo Spotorno

Willi Horber

Pier G Marchetti

Karl-Gerhart Stuhmer

Robert M Streicher

Erhard Heisig

Urs Wehrle

Kurt Bider

Erwin W Morscher

Jurg Oehy

Yvan Sandoz

Peter Griss

Adam Schreiber

K Zweymuller

Gontran Sennwald

Nikolaus Bohler

Peter Dittes

Norbert Gschwend

Willi Frick

Karl-Gerhart Stubmer

Maxa Burgi

Maya Burgi

Karl Zweymuller

Roland P Jakob

Johann U Steiger

Heinrich M Planck

Gunther Zeiler

Hilaire Jacob

Yoshinori Suezawa

The artificial joint part consists of a distal spherical bearing member (1), which can be attached by attachment means (16) to the capitate bone (14) or/and hamate bone (15), and also of a platform (18), which is attached to the radius (6) and at right angles to the longitudinal axis (7) of the radius (6) towards the ulna (8) comprises a guide surface (5). An intermediate member (2) is supported at the proximal end with a sliding surface (4) on the guide surface (5) and is displaceable in the direction of the ulna (8), whereas at the distal end it forms a spherical bearing (3) for the bearing member (1).

Artificial wrist joint

A hipjoint socket has an outer cup and an inner cup disposed within and secured to the outer cup. The inner cup has a hemispherical bearing surface which is concentric with an axis and terminates at the end face, which is perpendicular to the axis. An open groove formed in the end face is concentric with the axis. A closed ring has axially relatively longer and shorter portions and a cylindrical guiding surface having a diameter about equal to a diameter of the hemispherical guiding surface. The ring includes tongues engaging the groove and thereby securing the ring to the inner cup when the ring abuts the end face. The tongues are able to slide along the groove and position the cylindrical guiding surface concentric with the axis and substantially contiguous with an end of the hemispherical bearing surface at the end face. The ring can be rotated relative to the inner cup upon the implantation of the socket to position the relatively longer ring portion on the socket where it prevents luxation of a femur head cooperating with the socket.

Two-part hipjoint socket

The invention shows a double-cup hipjoint socket of oval cross-section with a spherical bearing cup (4). the metallic outer cup (1) exhibits a constant thickness of wall and is provided with openings (3) for anchoring in the pelvic bone. The inner cup (2) of plastics may be latched to the outer cup (1) and by springy tongues (11) on the opposite side. The oval shape is generated by inserting straight intermediate pieces (5,6) in the inner and outer cups. Through the elongated shape of the outer cup (1) which may be inserted in different directions, an optimum fastening may be striven for. The definitive position of the spherical bearing cup (4) is established for the first time by the insertion of a fitting inner cup (2). In doing so the spherical bearing cups (4) may be shifted in the equatorial plane of the outer cup (1) and/or in the direction of the polar axis of the outer cup.

Double-cup hipjoint socket suitable for use in revision

A finger joint prosthesis, made of metal, has a bearing shell (1) attached to a shaft (2) in the metacarpal and a bearing journal (3) attached to a shaft (5) in the phalange. The bearing journal (3) is designed as a barrel (4), which at right angles to its axis (8) in its center comprises a piece (7) connecting it to its shaft (5). The bearing shell (1) is C-shaped and encloses the barrel (4) with clearance to restrict lateral excursion of the phalange shaft (5), whereas an open area formed by the C-shaped shell restricts the flexion at the connecting piece (7). The C-shaped bearing shell (1) can be forced open when the barrel (4) is inserted because its shaft (2) is divided in the longitudinal direction (13) into two halves (14, 15) by a slit-shaped notch (11) so that the shell and the bearing shell can be engaged by moving them radially towards each other.

Finger joint prosthesis made of metal

A bone implant is provided with undercut anchoring areas for bone tissue which extend from the surface of the implant into the interior. Geometrically shaped cavities are generated through the openings in an interconnected manner to provide for the ingrowth of bone tissue. A high pressure liquid jet is used to form the cone-shaped cavities in the implant on spacings to provide for intercommunication between the respective cavities.

Bone implant and method of making same

The knee joint prosthesis is formed of a tibia metal plate which can be attached to a tibia and a femur part which can be secured in a femur. An intermediate plastic part is provided on the tibia metal plate to receive the femur part in bearing relation. In order to reduce abrasion of the intermediate plastic part, support members of hard material are distributed in the bearing surface of the intermediate plastic part to receive the femur part thereon. The bearing surfaces of the support members are integrated in the bearing surface of the intermediate part and are provided with dual surfaces to receive different bearing surfaces of the femur part, each of which has a different radius of curvature.

Knee joint prosthesis

The invention shows knock-out instruments for the shanks of hipjoint prostheses, the said instrument consisting of a shank (1) with a coupling-part for a sliding hammer (not shown) as well as of an extension-piece (3) which may be applied in the knock-out direction. The extension-piece (3) is connected rigidly to the shank and stands away from it like a foot at an angle .alpha. of between 20.degree. and 60.degree.. The extension-piece exhibits a recess (8) which may be slid from one side over the neck of a hipjoint prosthesis and encircles it over an angle of up to 180.degree., the width inside the recess measured across the 180.degree. being greater by a clearance than the smallest diameter of the neck of the prosthesis, measured in the same direction. The recess is further formed so that it engages the prosthesis in the area of the neck at three points arranged to lie in a plane substantially parallel to the axis of the shank so that, when the line of action of the sliding hammer is offset relative to the shank axis, a moment generated thereby is opposed by a moment generated between the extension piece and the neck at these three points.

Knock-out instrument for the shanks of hipjoint prostheses

The implant may be used as prosthetic replacement for a ligament and/or tendon. The implant has a plurality of discrete longitudinal strands disposed in side-by-side relation with transverse filaments about the strands. Individual sub-zones of the ligament are folded over in a transverse manner about a longitudinal axis of the sub-zone with intermediate zones being in an unfolded state. The intermediate zones may be formed solely of longitudinal strands to enhance flexibility.

Implant for a prosthetic ligament and/or tendon replacement

The implant is made of two members which are relatively movable relative to each other. One member is made of hard material while the second member is made of a soft material. In addition, a plurality of support members of hard material are embedded in the soft member and each has a sliding surface to receive the hard member thereon in bearing relation.

Bone implant having relatively slidable members

The invention shows a patella prosthesis, which consists of an artificial slide member (2) made from polyethylene with sliding surface (3), with the slide member (2) being mounted on the rear of the patella (1) by means of an attachment. The sliding surface (3) consists of the sector of a polyethylene sphere, which comprises a metal grid (4) of an attachment member (9). The attachment member consists of a metal sandwich construction having a central support sheet and metal grids (4, 6) spot welded on both sides, with bevelled sheet metal flanges (7) for the primary attachment of the support sheet (5) protruding through recesses (8) in the metal grid (6) on the side of the patella.

Patella prosthesis

The ligament prosthesis is formed of concentric tubes of filaments threads. In addition, a layer of elastomer is disposed over at least the outermost tube to act as an impermeable layer to the passage of abraded material from within the tubes into the lining. The thickness of the elastomer layer is at most 0.1 millimeter. The elastomer may also be provided on and about the threads of the inner tubes to reduce a migration of abraded particles therein.

Prosthetic implant

Bone implant

A femoral head prosthesis is provided with a slot which extends from ventral to dorsal within the distal zone of the stem to separate a tongue-like core from a resilient peripheral portion. The tongue-like core is able to move in the slot in response to bending and twisting stresses. The shear forces which these stresses produce in a transition zone between the bone and the stem are thus, at least, reduced. The slot may be of U-shape with arms parallel to the sides of the stem or with arms parallel to the axis of the stem. One arm of the slot may also be shorter than the other and one arm may be of widening shape relative to the other.

Femoral head prosthesis

A prosthetic ligament implant is sheathed at one end in the sock in order to facilitate pulling of the implant through a hole drilled in a bone. The sock is provided with a separable proximal portion which does not envelope the implant and which can be cut off after pulling of the implant through the hole in the bone. With removal of the proximal portion, the remaining textile structure of the sock becomes asunder so that the sock can be readily pulled off from the end of the implant.

Implant for replacing a ligament or tendon

A plastic acetabulum is provided with a plurality of cavities in the outer surface. Each cavity opens conically to the exterior of the acetabulum and the cavities are disposed in concentric rows about the axis of the acetabulum. The cavities are provided with a roughly fixed ratio of depth (t) to width (w) with the volume (v), depth (t) and width (w) decreasing from an edge of the acetabulum to a peak of the acetabulum. The depth and width of the cavities each decrease exponentially in proportion to the ratio of the diametric spacings of the cavity rows. Likewise, the volume of the cavities decrease exponentially from row-to-row in the direction of the peak of the acetabulum.

Growing community of inventors

Berlingen, Switzerland

Rudolf Koch