Claims
- 1. An apparatus for modifying the surface of a surgical implant by gas cluster ion beam processing comprising:
a vacuum vessel; a gas cluster ion beam source operably associated with the vacuum vessel for producing a gas cluster ion beam; an accelerator for accelerating the gas cluster ion beam along a path; a surgical implant holder disposed substantially along a longitudinal axis within the gas cluster ion beam path, said surgical implant holder positioning the surgical implant for gas cluster ion beam processing; repositioning means operably connected to said surgical implant holder for rotating said surgical implant holder and the surgical implant about said longitudinal axis and articulating said surgical implant holder and the surgical implant about an axis perpendicular to said longitudinal axis.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the repositioning means articulates multiple regions of said surgical implant to intercept the gas cluster ion beam path at an angle of beam incidence that is substantially normal to the surgical implant.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the angle of beam incidence is within +/−15 degrees of normal.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising scanning means for scanning the gas cluster ion beam and the surgical implant relative to each other.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the gas cluster ion beam provides a dose of approximately 3×1016 cluster ions/cm2 of clusters formed from a reactive gas, 50% argon mixed with 50% oxygen.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the gas cluster ion beam provides a dose of approximately 3×1016 cluster ions/cm2 of clusters formed from the inert gas.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the surgical implant comprises at least one component of an artificial hip joint.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the surgical implant comprises at least one component of an artificial hip joint.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the surgical implant comprises at least one component of an artificial hip joint.
- 10. An apparatus for modifying the surface of a surgical implant by gas cluster ion beam processing comprising:
a vacuum vessel; a gas cluster ion beam source operably associated with the vacuum vessel for producing a gas cluster ion beam; an accelerator for accelerating the gas cluster ion beam along a path; a surgical implant holder in the form of an elongated component, one end of said elongated component being removably attachable to said surgical implant; said elongated component being disposed at a predetermined angular relationship with respect to a longitudinal axis within said gas cluster ion beam path; and repositioning means operably connected to said surgical implant holder for rotating said elongated component and the surgical implant within said gas cluster ion beam path.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said elongated component positions the surgical implant to intercept the gas cluster ion beam path at an angle of beam incidence that is substantially normal to surfaces of the surgical implant.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said predetermined angular relationship with respect to a longitudinal axis within said gas cluster ion beam path is approximately 20-50 degrees.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the gas cluster ion beam provides a dose of approximately 3×1016 cluster ions/cm2 of clusters formed from a reactive gas, 50% argon mixed with 50% oxygen.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the gas cluster ion beam provides a dose of approximately 3×1016 cluster ions/cm2 of clusters formed from the inert gas.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the surgical implant comprises at least one component of an artificial hip joint.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the surgical implant comprises at least one component of an artificial hip joint.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the surgical implant comprises at least one component of an artificial hip joint.
- 18. A method for modifying the surface of a surgical implant by gas cluster ion beam processing to improve a surface thereof, comprising the steps of:
forming an inert gas cluster ion beam in a vacuum chamber; accelerating the gas cluster ion beam; positioning a surface of the surgical implant in the vacuum chamber to receive the gas cluster ion beam for processing; and irradiating the surface with a predetermined dose of gas cluster ions having a predetermined energy.
- 19. The method for modifying the surface of a surgical implant by gas cluster ion beam processing to improve a surface thereof, comprising the steps of:
forming a reactive gas cluster ion beam in a vacuum chamber; accelerating the gas cluster ion beam; positioning a surface of the surgical implant in the vacuum chamber to receive the gas cluster ion beam for processing; and irradiating the surface with a predetermined dose of gas cluster ions having a predetermined energy.
- 20. The method for modifying the surface of a surgical implant by gas cluster ion beam processing to improve a surface thereof, comprising the steps of:
positioning a surface of a surgical implant in a vacuum chamber to receive one or more gas cluster ion beams for processing; forming an accelerated reactive gas cluster ion beam with a predetermined energy in the vacuum chamber; directing the reactive gas cluster ion beam onto a surface of the surgical implant; irradiating the surface with a predetermined dose of the reactive gas cluster ions; forming an accelerated inert gas cluster ion beam with a second predetermined energy in the vacuum chamber; directing the inert gas cluster ion beam onto the surface of the surgical implant; and irradiating the surface with a predetermined dose of the inert gas cluster ions.
- 21. The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of rotating or articulating the surgical implant to process additional regions of the surgical implant.
- 22. The method of claims 18, further comprising the steps of:
rotating or repositioning the surgical implant to process regions of the surgical implant; and subjecting the surgical implant with a gas cluster ion beam incident to the surgical implant substantially normal thereto.
- 23. The methods of claim 19, further comprising the steps of:
rotating or repositioning the surgical implant to process regions of the surgical implant; and subjecting the surgical implant with a gas cluster ion beam incident to the surgical implant substantially normal thereto.
- 24. The methods of claim 20, further comprising the steps of:
rotating or repositioning the surgical implant to process regions of the surgical implant; and subjecting the surgical implant with a gas cluster ion beam incident substantially normal to the surgical implant.
- 25. The methods of claim 18, wherein the surgical implant comprises a metal component.
- 26. The methods of claim 19, wherein the surgical implant comprises a metal component.
- 27. The methods of claim 20, wherein the surgical implant comprises a metal component.
- 28. The method of claim 18, wherein the metal comprises cobalt or an alloy of cobalt.
- 29. The method of claim 19, wherein the metal comprises cobalt or an alloy of cobalt.
- 30. The method of claim 20, wherein the metal comprises cobalt or an alloy of cobalt.
- 31. The method of claim 19 wherein the reactive gas comprises a gas selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen, fluorine, a gaseous compound of oxygen, a gaseous compound of nitrogen, a gaseous compound of fluorine, and a mixture of an oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine containing gas with an inert gas.
- 32. The method of claim 20 wherein the reactive gas comprises a gas selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen, fluorine, a gaseous compound of oxygen, a gaseous compound of nitrogen, a gaseous compound of fluorine, and a mixture of an oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine containing gas with an inert gas.
- 33. The method of claim 19 wherein the reactive gas comprises a mixture of about 50% oxygen with about 50% argon.
- 34. The method of claim 20 wherein the reactive gas comprises a mixture of about 50% oxygen with about 50% argon.
- 35. The methods of claim 18, wherein the surgical implant comprises at least one component of an artificial hip joint.
- 36. The methods of claim 19, wherein the surgical implant comprises at least one component of an artificial hip joint.
- 37. The methods of claim 20, wherein the surgical implant comprises at least one component of an artificial hip joint.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority of U.S. provisional application serial no. 60/217,313 entitled “Method and System for Improving the Effectiveness of Artificial Hip Joints by the Application of Gas Cluster Ion Beam Technology”, filed Jul. 10, 2000, the provisional application being incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60217313 |
Jul 2000 |
US |