Appeal No. 2004-1442 Page 2
Application No. 09/308,548
BACKGROUND
The appellants' invention relates to a left or right-oriented prosthetic ligament to
replace a biological joint ligament, and to several methods for making such pre-oriented
ligaments; these left-gyratory or right-gyratory ligaments can be especially used in knee
plasty to replace anterior or posterior cruciate ligaments whether for left or right knee
joints (specification, p. 1). A copy of the dependent claims under appeal is set forth in
the appendix to the appellants' brief. Claim 28, the only independent claim on appeal,
reads as follows:
A method for producing a prosthetic ligament to replace a natural joint
ligament, said method comprising:
first applying a predetermined torsion individually to each of a plurality of
strands,
thereafter forming a bundle of said strands aligned in a parallel lengthwise
relationship, each strand having a median part and first and second end parts,
securing said strands to each other at said respective first and second end
parts to form first and second end sections of said bundle, said first and second
end sections forming respective end members of said prosthetic ligament, and
having sufficient length to be embedded in bone insertion tunnels of a joint, and
leaving said median parts of said strands unattached to collectively form a
middle section of said bundle, said middle section of said bundle comprising a
central member of said prosthetic ligament approximating a length of an intra-
articular portion of a natural ligament.
The prior art references of record relied upon by the examiner in rejecting the
appealed claims are:
Hlavacek et al. 4,792,336 Dec. 20, 1988
(Hlavacek)
Li et al. 5,263,984 Nov. 23, 1993
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