ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 26 -- United States Patent no. 12,232,978, issued on Feb. 25, was assigned to Smith & Nephew Inc. (Memphis, Tenn.).
"Orthopedic implant augments" was invented by Jeffrey J. Shea (Memphis, Tenn.), Nathaniel M. Quinn (Arlington, Tenn.) and Daniel R. Goldberg (Memphis, Tenn.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Systems, methods and devices for providing orthopedic implant augments are provided which have fastener locking mechanisms. The augments include a surface for mating with an implant component and a surface for interfacing with a patient's bone. The fastener locking mechanisms are aligned such that the augment may be locked in a variety of orientations while maintaining clo...