Claims
- 1. A method for establishing the orientation of a modular hip implant neck, the method comprising:
recording the orientation of the trial neck relative to a reference that is fixed in relationship with the femur; and inserting the modular implant neck component into the femur in the precise orientation that was determined by the recording step using the fixed reference.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the recording of the orientation of the trial neck comprises making a discrete numerical measurement.
- 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the recording of the orientation of the trial neck comprises making a mechanical recording of the position.
- 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the fixed reference is the prepared body orientation.
- 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the feature of the fixed reference used to determine the recording reference is different from the feature of the fixed reference that is used to orient the neck implant components.
- 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the fixed reference is an anatomic landmark on the femur.
- 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the fixed reference is a device that is affixed to the femur.
- 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the modular implant components are preassembled in the desired orientation prior to being inserted into the femur.
- 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the modular implant components are assembled in situ in the desired orientation.
- 10. A method for establishing the orientation of a modular hip implant neck, the method comprising:
determining the orientation of the trial implant neck relative to the knee joint and using that measurement to determine the initial orientation for the trial neck; recording the orientation of the trial neck relative to a reference that is fixed in relationship with the femur; and inserting the modular neck component into the femur in the precise orientation that was determined by the recording step using the fixed reference.
- 11. The method of claim 10 where the knee joint orientation is determined by the posterior condylar plane.
- 12. The method of claim 10 wherein the knee joint orientation is determined by the long axis of the tibia.
- 13. The method of claim 10 wherein the recording of the orientation of the trial neck comprises making a discrete numerical measurement.
- 14. The method of claim 10 wherein the recording of the orientation of the trial neck comprises making a mechanical recording of the position.
- 15. The method of claim 10 wherein the fixed reference is the position of the body component of the implant in the bone.
- 16. The method of claim 10 wherein the feature used to determine the recording reference is different from the fixed reference that is used to orient the neck implant components.
- 17. The method of claim 10 wherein the fixed reference is an anatomic landmark on the femur.
- 18. The method of claim 10 wherein the fixed reference is a device that is affixed to the femur.
- 19. The method of claim 10 wherein the modular implant components are preassembled in the desired orientations prior to being inserted into the femur.
- 20. The method of claim 10 wherein the modular implant components are assembled in situ in the desired orientation.
- 21. An instrument for measuring the angular orientation of a trial neck with respect to a reference that is fixed with respect to the femur, the instrument comprising:
a first member having a feature for engaging a portion of the trial neck to register its rotational position; a second member having a feature for engaging the fixed reference; and a recording mechanism for recording the position of the first member relative to the second member.
- 22. The instrument of claim 21 wherein the recording mechanism comprises a scale member connected to one of the first member and second member, and a pointer member connected to the other of the first member and the second member, to show the relative orientation between the first and second members.
- 23. The instrument of claim 21 wherein the recording mechanism comprises apparatus for locking the first and second members together so as to record an orientation.
- 24. The instrument of claim 21 wherein the fixed reference is the prepared body orientation.
- 25. The instrument of claim 21 wherein the fixed reference is a location on the femur itself.
- 26. The instrument of claim 21 wherein the fixed reference is a device affixed to the femur.
- 27. An instrument for measuring the angular orientation of a modular hip implant neck portion with respect to a fixed reference, the instrument comprising;
a first member having a feature for engaging a portion of the implant neck to register its rotational position; a second member having a feature for engaging the fixed reference; and a scale feature for showing the position of the first member relative to the second member.
- 28. The instrument of claim 27 wherein the scale feature comprises a scale member connected to one of the first member and the second member, and a pointer member connected to the other of the first member and the second member, to show the relative orientation between the first and second members.
- 29. The instrument of claim 27 wherein the scale feature comprises apparatus for locking first and second members together so as to record an orientation.
- 30. The instrument of claim 27 wherein the fixed reference is the prepared body orientation.
- 31. The instrument of claim 27 wherein the fixed reference is a location on the femur itself.
- 32. The instrument of claim 27 wherein the fixed reference is a device affixed to the femur.
- 33. An instrument for measuring the relative angular orientation between two components of a modular hip, the instrument comprising:
a single member having a feature for engaging a portion of the modular implant neck and having a scale feature oriented to allow direct observation of the angular orientation of the body.
- 34. The instrument of claim 33 wherein the single member has a feature for fixedly engaging a portion of modular implant neck.
- 35. The instrument of claim 33 where the instrument is constructed of translucent material.
- 36. An instrument for measuring the angular orientation of a modular hip implant neck portion with respect to a fixed reference, the instrument comprising: a single member having a feature for engaging a portion of the implant neck to register its rotational position, and a scale feature for direct comparison to the fixed reference.
REFERENCE TO PENDING PRIOR PATENT APPLICATION
[0001] This patent application claims benefit of pending prior U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/378,984, filed May 9, 2002 by Michael A. Serra et al. for METHOD FOR ESTABLISHING THE ORIENTATION OF MODULAR IMPLANTS (Attorney's Docket No. HAYES-13 PROV), which patent application is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60378984 |
May 2002 |
US |