Patent ID: 8062378

Claim:
A weight-bearing femoral stem hip implant for insertion into a surgically created aperture in a femur, the implant comprising: a non-hollow stem made of shape memory material, the stem being adapted for insertion into the aperture and being a single-branch without a central gap, the stem further having a longitudinal axis and at least a portion of the shape memory material within a proximal portion of the stem being in a compressed state, the compressed shape memory material within the proximal portion of the stem having a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the stem, the shape memory material having been compressed by application of a plurality of opposing compressive forces to the shape memory material at a temperature below an austenitic finish temperature of the shape memory material so that the cross section of the shape memory material expands through shape memory effect via the formation of austenite in response to a temperature increase after insertion into the aperture so as to cause a locking-force to be exerted against an inner surface of the aperture and at a proximal portion of the aperture, the locking force being sufficient to stabilize the implant in the aperture; and a connection feature integral to the stem and adapted for connection to an acetabular ball; wherein the femoral stem hip implant is monolithic.