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US-20260124040-A1 - ADJUSTED STIFFNESS ORTHOPAEDIC IMPLANTS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE

US20260124040A1US 20260124040 A1US20260124040 A1US 20260124040A1US-20260124040-A1

Abstract

An orthopaedic implant includes an ingrowth material body having at least two stiffness regions that each have a respective stiffness that differ from one another.

Inventors

  • Gregory C. Stalcup
  • Paul S. Nebosky
  • Kreigh R. Williams

Assignees

  • SMED-TA/TD, LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251219

Claims (18)

  1. 1 . An orthopaedic implant, comprising: an ingrowth material body comprising at least two stiffness regions that each have a respective stiffness that differ from one another.
  2. 2 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 1 , wherein the at least two stiffness regions comprises a peripheral stiffness region defining at least part of a periphery of the ingrowth material body and a core stiffness region having a stiffness that differs from a stiffness of the peripheral stiffness region.
  3. 3 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 2 , wherein the stiffness of the core stiffness region is less than the stiffness of the peripheral stiffness region.
  4. 4 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 2 , wherein the peripheral stiffness region surrounds the core stiffness region.
  5. 5 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 4 , wherein the at least two stiffness regions further comprises an intermediate stiffness region disposed between the peripheral stiffness region and the core stiffness region and having a stiffness that differs from the stiffness of the peripheral stiffness region and the stiffness of the core stiffness region.
  6. 6 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 5 , wherein the peripheral stiffness region surrounds the intermediate stiffness region.
  7. 7 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 5 , wherein the stiffness of the intermediate stiffness region is greater than the stiffness of the core region and less than the stiffness of the peripheral surface region.
  8. 8 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 1 , wherein each of the stiffness regions is formed from the same material.
  9. 9 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 8 , wherein each of the at least two stiffness regions defines a respective porosity that differs from a porosity of at least one other one of the at least two stiffness regions.
  10. 10 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 1 , wherein the at least two stiffness regions comprises a pair of end stiffness regions and an intermediate stiffness region disposed between the pair of end stiffness regions and having a stiffness that differs from a stiffness of at least one of the pair of end stiffness regions.
  11. 11 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 9 , wherein each one of the end stiffness regions has a stiffness that is greater than the stiffness of the intermediate stiffness region.
  12. 12 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 10 , wherein each one of the end stiffness regions has a stiffness that is less than the stiffness of the intermediate stiffness region.
  13. 13 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 9 , wherein the intermediate stiffness region is disposed between the end stiffness regions along a long axis of the ingrowth material body.
  14. 14 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 9 , wherein the pair of end stiffness regions each have a same stiffness.
  15. 15 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 9 , wherein each of the end stiffness regions of the pair of end stiffness regions has a respective stiffness that differs from the stiffness of the other one of the pair of end stiffness regions.
  16. 16 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 1 , wherein the ingrowth material body defines a top surface and a bottom surface and further comprises a through-hole that extends from the top surface to the bottom surface.
  17. 17 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 1 , wherein the top surface and the bottom surface are each configured to bear on a respective vertebra following implantation of the orthopaedic implant.
  18. 18 . The orthopaedic implant of claim 1 , wherein the ingrowth material body is a porous ingrowth material body comprising a plurality of pores in each of the at least two stiffness regions.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/525,006 entitled “ADJUSTED STIFFNESS ORTHOPAEDIC IMPLANTS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE” filed on Nov. 30, 2023, which is incorporated herein by reference. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/525,006 is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/704,698 entitled “ADJUSTED STIFFNESS ORTHOPAEDIC IMPLANTS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE” filed on Dec. 5, 2019, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 12,350,165 on Jul. 8, 2025, and is incorporated herein by reference. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/704,698 is a non-provisional application based upon U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/775,498, entitled “ADJUSTED STIFFNESS ORTHOPAEDIC IMPLANTS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE”, filed Dec. 5, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present disclosure relates to medical implants and, more particularly, to orthopaedic implants. 2. Description of the Related Art Orthopaedic implants are commonly used to replace and/or repair anatomical structures of a patient that have been damaged due to disease and/or injury. To be successful, the implant needs to have sufficient strength. If the strength of the implant is not sufficient, the implant can fail and require a revision. While known implants can be successful, implant failure rates and the rate of adverse patient events remain higher than desired. What is needed in the art is an implant that can address some of the previously described issues of known implants. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Exemplary embodiments disclosed herein provide orthopaedic implants with an implant stiffness that can be adjusted based on patient requirements. In some exemplary embodiments provided according to the present disclosure, an orthopaedic implant includes: a first porous ingrowth material region; a second porous ingrowth material region coupled to the first porous ingrowth material region; and an intermediate region disposed between the first porous ingrowth material region and the second porous ingrowth material region. The intermediate region has a stiffness that differs from at least one of the first porous ingrowth material region or the second porous ingrowth material region. In some exemplary embodiments provided according to the present disclosure, an orthopaedic implant includes: a porous ingrowth material body having at least one opening and at least one stiffness adjusting feature; and at least one reinforcing element placed in the at least one stiffness adjusting feature and configured to reinforce the porous ingrowth material body in at least one direction. In some exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, a method of manufacturing multiple orthopaedic implants is provided. The method includes: producing a strip of material comprising a composite of a first porous ingrowth material and a second porous ingrowth material; forming a plurality of through-openings in the strip; and cutting a plurality of implant blanks from the strip, each of the implant blanks comprising at least one of the formed through-openings. In some exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, an orthopaedic implant includes an ingrowth material body including at least two stiffness regions that each have a respective stiffness that differ from one another. One possible advantage that may be realized by exemplary embodiments disclosed herein is that the stiffness of the orthopaedic implant may be adjusted to match the specific requirements of a patient to reduce the risk of providing an overly stiff implant. Another possible advantage that may be realized by exemplary embodiments disclosed herein is that the orthopaedic implants may be produced in an economical manner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is a side view of an exemplary embodiment of an orthopaedic implant including an intermediate region, provided according to the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the orthopaedic implant of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a side view of an exemplary embodiment of an orthopaedic implant including a tapered intermediate region, provided according to the present disclosure; FIG. 4 is a side view of an exemplary embodiment of an orthopaedic implant including an intermediate region with a stiffness adjusting feature, provided according to the present disclosure; FIG. 5 is a top view of the orthopaedic implant of FIG. 4; FIG. 6A is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of an orthopaedic implant including a plurality of reinforcement elements, provided according to the present disclosure; FIG. 6B is a partial cut-away view of