US Patent 7001672 Laser based metal deposition of implant structures

A method of depositing a hard wear resistant surface onto a porous or non-porous base material of a medical implant. The medical implant device formed by a Laser Based Metal Deposition (LBMD) method. The porous material of the base promotes bone ingrowth allowing the implant to fuse strongly with the bone of a host patient. The hard wear resistant surface provides device longevity when applied to bearing surfaces such as artificial joint bearing surface or a dental implant bearing surface.