Endoprostheses for tissue protection

Abstract From the Canadian patent

Medical implants of zirconium or zirconium-based alloy coated with blue or blue-black zirconium oxide or zirconium nitride to provide low friction highly wear, resistant coatings especially useful in hemiarthroplasty applications such as unipolar artificial joints, including unipolar hip joints or surface replacements, knee joints, shoulder joints elbows, spinal segments, fingers, etc. The zirconium oxide or nitride coated prostheses also provide a barrier against implant corrosion caused by galvanic coupling with other metal components or in vivo ionisation of the metal prosthesis.