Patent ID: 8333805

Claim:
A femoral component for use in connection with knee anthroplasty, comprising: a. a support having a contoured inner bone engaging surface and a curved outer surface, the inner bone engaging surface having a profile matching a prepared distal femur; and b. a shell having a thickness between 0.015 to 0.065 inches affixed to said support outer surface, the shell having a uniform thickness; said shell having an outer surface forming a medial and a lateral condyle to provide a curved articulation surface for engaging a tibia that substantially replicates the shape of a medial and lateral femoral condyle and an inner surface for receiving an outer surface of said support, the inner surface of the shell having a curved surface matching the outer curved articulation surface of the shell, the curved outer surface of the support matching the shape of the shell inner surface; and wherein said support bone engaging surface is structured to mate with a prepared surface of the distal femur and said support spaces said shell outer surface at a predetermined distance from said prepared surface, the support inner surface formed at least in part by a multiplicity of spaced ribs forming a plurality of recesses therebetween, the ribs extending through the support from the bone engaging surface to the curved outer surface and contacting the medial and lateral condyles of the shell, the support curved outer surface fixedly attached to the inner surface of the shell, the ribs having end surfaces for contacting bone, the support providing a majority of the spacing between the articulation surface and the bone engaging surface.