Views
9 years ago

FALL 2011

Distributor's Link Magazine Fall Issue 2011 / VOL 34 / NO.4

34 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S

34 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Del Williams Del Williams is a technical writer based in Torrance, California. He writes about health, business, technology, and educational issues, and has an M.A. in English from C.S.U. Dominguez Hills. IMPLANT RELIES ON UNIQUE FASTENER TO GEAR UP FOR BABY BOOMER GENERATION To handle active baby boomers and rising longevity, Skeletal Dynamics specifies an innovative self locking fastener that withstands up to one-million loading cycles for its new elbow replacement implant As the first of the baby boomer generation turns 65 this year and promises to live longer and more actively than previous generations, implants and their components - including the fasteners that hold them together - must be built to last longer than ever before. To handle the demands of tomorrow’s dynamic baby boomer population, for whom jogging, tennis, and golf have been generational pursuits, some medical device companies are going beyond what’s currently required. For instance, some are specifying self locking fasteners in implants of the upper extremities that go way beyond 100,000 load cycles to withstand up to one-million load cycles without loosening or backing out. “Patients are living longer and more vigorously than past generations, and that’s only going to increase as baby boomers demand more from their muscular-skeletal systems well past traditional ‘retirement age,’” says Tom Norman, Vice President of Engineering at Miami, Fla.-based Skeletal Dynamics, a designer and marketer of innovative orthopedic devices. To keep up with active baby boomers, Skeletal Dynamics recently developed its Align Radial Head System, an artificial elbow joint designed to restore the natural function of the native radial head. Previously, prosthetic radial head designs typically followed one of two approaches with significant drawbacks. While a traditional fixed monoblock design offered stability, it could not be aligned to the patient’s anatomy, which tended to wear away natural tissue such as cartilage. A bi-polar radial head was an attempt to align with the patient’s native anatomy, as it was able to rotate in a polyethylene sheath, but would not remain in the correct position because it would not lock. “We aimed to fill a gap in the market by providing the ability to orient the joint to its natural position during surgery, and then locking it in place for the rest of the patient’s life,” says Norman. “We considered traditional fastener thread forms, but lacked confidence that they would stay in place for the up to a million load cycles an active patient could subject them to in their lifetime. Instead, we selected an innovative self locking fastener called Spiralock.” Because repetitive loads, shock and loosening must be decisively handled for implant use, traditional fasteners susceptible to self-loosening rotational movement, stripping, and shearing are not always appropriate. Testing, in fact, has found that the first two threads of traditional fasteners can carry as much as 80% of the load, permitting stripping or shearing, while subsequent male threads "float" within the female threads. please turn to page 190

THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 35

  • Page 6 and 7: THE DISTRIBUTOR’S IN THE FALL 201
  • Page 8: 6 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Aluminum
  • Page 12: 10 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Robert
  • Page 16: 14 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Joe Dys
  • Page 28 and 29: 26 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Advance
  • Page 30: 28 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Bart Ba
  • Page 34: 32 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Chandle
  • Page 40: 38 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Applied
  • Page 46 and 47: 44 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK FIN INT
  • Page 48 and 49: 46 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Volt In
  • Page 50: 48 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK NATIONA
  • Page 54 and 55: 52 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Anthony
  • Page 56: 54 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK MW Indu
  • Page 60: 58 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Introdu
  • Page 64: 62 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK ALL AME
  • Page 67: THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 65
  • Page 71 and 72: THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 69
  • Page 74: 72 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Michael
  • Page 77 and 78: THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 75
  • Page 80: 78 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Curtis
  • Page 86:

    84 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK B&D Thr

  • Page 90:

    88 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK New Pro

  • Page 96:

    94 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Norm Sp

  • Page 100:

    98 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Ohio Ro

  • Page 103 and 104:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 101

  • Page 106:

    104 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Mariah

  • Page 109 and 110:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 107

  • Page 112:

    110 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK NEFDA

  • Page 116:

    114 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Anthon

  • Page 119:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 117 DROP F

  • Page 123 and 124:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 121

  • Page 126:

    124 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK RAF El

  • Page 130:

    128 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK LEP Sp

  • Page 133:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 131

  • Page 137:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 135

  • Page 142:

    140 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK RAF El

  • Page 146 and 147:

    144 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Screw

  • Page 148:

    146 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK CORROS

  • Page 153:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 151 Interc

  • Page 157:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 155 Our Co

  • Page 164 and 165:

    CORROSION - CAUSES AND PREVENTION c

  • Page 166:

    164 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Former

  • Page 170:

    168 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Aztech

  • Page 174:

    172 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK IS IT

  • Page 178:

    176 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK BUSINE

  • Page 181 and 182:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 179 Metric

  • Page 183 and 184:

    Visit us at Booth #749 NIFMSE Las V

  • Page 185 and 186:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 183 NATION

  • Page 188:

    186 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK THE FA

  • Page 191 and 192:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 189 Shamro

  • Page 194 and 195:

    192 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK HOW TO

  • Page 196 and 197:

    194 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK FIN IN

  • Page 198:

    196 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Ralph

  • Page 201 and 202:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 199 THE UN

  • Page 204 and 205:

    202 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK OPTICA

  • Page 206 and 207:

    204 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Würth

  • Page 208 and 209:

    206 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK CULTUR

  • Page 210:

    208 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Interf

  • Page 213 and 214:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 211 WHAT T

  • Page 215 and 216:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 213 NEFDA

  • Page 217 and 218:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 215 Trinit

  • Page 219 and 220:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 217

  • Page 221 and 222:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 219 Bay Fa

  • Page 224 and 225:

    222 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Don Hu

  • Page 226 and 227:

    224 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK SELLIN

  • Page 228:

    226 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Dave K

  • Page 231 and 232:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 229 WHATS

  • Page 234 and 235:

    232 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK REVIEW

  • Page 236:

    234 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK REVIEW

  • Page 239 and 240:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 237

  • Page 242:

    240 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK REVIEW

  • Page 245 and 246:

    THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 243

  • Page 247 and 248:

    FASTENER CROSSWORD SOLUTION THE DIS

  • Page 250 and 251:

    248 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK B cont

  • Page 252:

    250 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK E cont

  • Page 256:

    254 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK N cont

SHARE A PAGE FROM THIS MAGAZINE

OPTION 1: Click on the share tab above, or OPTION 2: Click on the icon (far right of toolbar) and then click on the icon (top right of the page).

Copyright © Distributor's Link, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy