Patent ID: 7611520

Claim:
A method for implanting a prosthesis on a limb, comprising: calculating the position of a mechanical axis extending longitudinally through a limb without piercing a skin on the limb beyond a first exposed end of the limb, the limb being freely movable and rotatably supported in a body via a movable center of rotation at a second end of the limb, wherein the calculating is done iteratively via a least-squares method and wherein calculating the position of the mechanical axis includes: determining a first reference point at the first end of the limb; and calculating the position of the center of rotation by rotating the limb about the second end to one of a variety of rotational positions and measuring the orientation of the limb at the rotational position, the mechanical axis extending through the first reference point and the center of rotation; aligning a cutting jig on the limb with respect to the calculated mechanical axis; attaching the cutting jig to the first end of the limb, the cutting jig guiding a cutting device thereon to resect the first exposed end of the limb; and implanting a prosthesis on the limb at the resected first end.