| B-P
KNEE REPLACEMENT SYSTEM: WHITE PAPER #1 - IMPROVED FEMORAL
COMPONENT |
MICHAEL
J. PAPPAS, Ph.D,*
ABSTRACT
The LCS® total
knee femoral component is designed to provide near congruent
contact at peak loading. In order to obtain adequate flexion,
however, the LCS provides only incongruent contact during
flexion beyond peak loading. This is a compromise which has
been clinically shown to work quite well [1-5]. The B-P femoral
component improves on this excellent design by increasing
contact congruity and the range of congruent contact to reduce
stresses, thus improving its wear characteristics.
DePuy markets
a ceramic coated LCS as a premium product. They license and
use our propriety coating and polishing process and we help
DePuy manufacture such devices. Their testing [9] shows that
our TiN ceramic coating should improve wear resistance. Further,
since the B-P femoral articular surface is accurately machined
to an exact shape this femoral component is manufactured with
greater dimensional accuracy than DePuy's device, further
improving the B-P knee's wear potential.
As a result of what appears to be a minor change in shape,
stresses in the B-P knee are substantially less than with
the LCS. This reduction in contact stress along with improved
materials and manufacture reduces the potential for wear associated
with the already excellent wear properties of the LCS. Thus,
the B-P Femoral Component represents a substantial advance
beyond LCS.
* Department
of Mechanical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology,
Newark, NJ
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