Tibial Implant Base Component Posterior Marginal Web Height Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tibial implants in knee prostheses experience significant wear, particularly in the posterior region, leading to reduced functionality and the need for premature revision due to direct contact between the marginal web and femoral implant during knee movements, which limits their service life and requires more extensive bone resection for implantation.
Innovation Solution
The design of a tibial implant base component with a lateral and medial compartment, featuring a marginal web that is reduced in height at the posterior region, forming a receiving shell for meniscus components, which enhances the cooperation with the femoral implant and reduces wear by maintaining more meniscus material between the articulation surface and the marginal web, allowing for a minimally invasive implantation and extended service life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the marginal web is made uniformly high around the compartment, then the structural strength and support are improved, but the wear in the posterior region increases and service life decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The marginal web is designed with non-uniform height, being reduced in the posterior region compared to other regions. This local variation allows the posterior region to maintain more meniscus component material thickness, reducing wear in this high-stress area while the rest of the marginal web maintains sufficient height for structural support.
2Ease of manufacture
If the tibial implant is made thinner to minimize bone resection, then the ease of implantation is improved, but the wear resistance and service life are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The implant allows for thin overall profile to facilitate minimally invasive implantation, while the reduced posterior marginal web height locally preserves additional meniscus component material thickness where wear is most severe, thereby maintaining wear resistance without compromising ease of implantation.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution addresses the thickness-wear resistance trade-off by introducing vertical dimension variation in the marginal web height, creating a stepped profile that optimizes both implant thinness for easy implantation and sufficient material thickness for wear resistance in the posterior region.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the posterior region of the tibial implant is made thinner to improve kinematics, then the anatomical accuracy is improved, but the wear increases due to less meniscus material
Solution Approach 1:
The marginal web height is locally reduced in the posterior region, which allows the meniscus component to maintain greater thickness in this area. This local adjustment preserves wear resistance while still allowing the overall implant design to achieve improved anatomical accuracy and kinematics.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a base component for a tibial implant, comprising a lateral compartment (14), a medial compartment (12) and an anterior connection portion (16) which connects the lateral compartment (14) and the medial compartment (12) to one another at anterior. A portion (18) open to posterior is provided between the lateral compartment (14) and the medial compartment (12). The lateral component (14) and the medial component (12) each have a lower side and an upper side, with at least one of the lower sides being configured for the fastening of the base component to the tibia. A marginal web (22, 22′) is formed at at least one of the compartments (12, 14), starting from the upper side, said marginal web forming a receiving shell for a meniscus component (30, 32) of the tibial implant together with the upper side of the compartment. The height of the marginal web (22, 22′) in a posterior region is reduced with respect to other regions of the marginal web (22, 22′) at at least one of the two compartments (12, 14). The invention furthermore relates to a tibial implant and to a knee prosthesis.