Patent 7666229 was granted and assigned to Amedica Corporation on February, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An implantable articulating bone prosthesis (e.g., hip or joint prosthesis) is provided, which includes a pair of articulation components respectively defining a pair of articulation surfaces movably engageable with each other. Each of the articulation surfaces is formed from a biocompatible ceramic (e.g., doped silicon nitride ceramic) having a flexural strength greater than about 700 Mega-Pascal (MPa) and a toughness greater than about 7 Mega-Pascal root meter (MPam0.5).