Auditory ossicles prosthesis with integrated ball joint

摘要

A prosthesis to replace the bones in the inner ear of humans has two elements; a first rod (10) with a clip (12) at one end to clip to the hammer mounting of the inner ear and a second rod (20) with a plunger shaped end (22) to press directly into the inner ear. The two rods are linked by a universal joint (30). A simple version of a universal joint has a ball end (32) of the first rod gripped by a forked end (34) of the second rod. The universal joint can be replaced by up to three universal joints in series. The back the clip is provided with a grip (16) which enables the surgeon to hold and insert the clip.