referring now to fig1 , the present invention is directed to a femoral hip prosthetic implant 100 comprising a longitudinal stem 20 . fig1 illustrates an anterior view of a left femoral implant ( or a posterior view of a right femoral implant ). as illustrated , the stem is engaged within a surgically prepared intramedullary shaft i of the femur f . the stem further comprises a distal end 21 and a proximal end 22 , with a longitudinal axis x extending from the proximal end to the distal end . extending from the proximal end of the stem is a neck 24 portion and a femoral head 25 configured for engagement within an acetabulum ( not shown ). the implant further includes a second longitudinal axis y extending from and through the femoral head 25 and neck portion 24 . the neck axis y intersects the stem axis x , generally at an angle α , as shown in fig1 . the novel aspects of the present invention reside within the configuration of the neck portion 24 of the implant and may be best described and illustrated with respect to a transverse cross - section taken perpendicular to the neck axis y of the implant ( i . e . along line 2 - 2 in fig1 ), as illustrated in fig2 . the novel transverse cross sectional design of the neck portion of the implant is defined in part with respect to two axes x 1 , y 1 that intersect one another within the same plane of the cross section . specifically , the cross section comprises a medial / lateral axis x 1 bisecting the cross section through a medial - most point 1 along the medial edge m and through the lateral edge l of the cross section . consequently , two anterior 30 and posterior 31 halves are created about the medial / lateral axis x 1 . the medial / lateral axis further defines a maximum medial / lateral width w 1 of the cross - section . fig2 - 3 illustrate one configuration of the anterior 30 and posterior 31 halves ; however , the configuration of these halves 30 , 31 may be modified . for example , the anterior a and posterior edges p may be slightly flattened , concaved , or more convexed than that shown in the figures . preferably , from the standpoint of increased versatility of the implant , the anterior 30 and posterior 31 halves are substantially symmetrical such that one implant may be used for both the right and left legs , thereby reducing the inventory demands and subsequent costs associated therewith . the transverse cross section may also be defined in part by a maximum anterior / posterior axis y 1 that perpendicularly intersects the medial / lateral axis x 1 and the anterior a and posterior p edges of the cross section at the widest anterior / posterior points of the cross - section , to thereby define a maximum anterior / posterior width w 2 of the cross section . as shown in fig2 - 3 , the maximum anterior / posterior axis y 1 runs parallel to a second anterior / posterior axis z , this second axis z oriented such that it intersects the medial / lateral axis x 1 point 26 representing the location of the neck axis y as it intersects the center 26 of the femoral head 25 . the maximum anterior / posterior width w 2 as well as the medial lateral width w 1 is typically about 8 mm or greater , and more typically from about 9 mm to about 15 mm . a preferred medial lateral width w 1 is from about 8 mm to 12 mm . the configuration of the neck portion , with respect to the transverse cross section , is further defined geometrically by a medially - positioned circle 40 comprising three points along its circumference : ( 1 ) the medial - most point 1 of the cross section through which the medial / lateral axis x 1 intersects ; ( 2 ) a point 2 taken on the anterior edge a of the cross section ; and 3 ) a point 3 the taken on the posterior edge p of the cross section . the anterior and posterior edge points 2 , 3 are further located along the anterior and posterior edges , respectively , at a distance d of 10 % of the medial / lateral width w 1 measured laterally from the medial - most point 1 . for example , if the medial / lateral width w 1 is 12 mm , the anterior and posterior edge points 2 , 3 are taken at 1 . 2 mm measured from the medial - most point 1 . moreover , the effective medial diameter ( represented as a double arrow line θ ) of the medially - positioned circle 40 is about 66 % or less of the anterior / posterior width of the cross section , as defined by the maximum anterior / posterior axis y . thus , if the maximum anterior / posterior width w 2 is 12 mm , the effective medial diameter will range from about 0 . 6 mm to about 7 . 8 mm . as a comparison , the effective medial diameters θ of a circle taken at the same three points in conventional neck designs ( i . e . circle , rectangle , trapezoid , and oval ) are illustrated in fig6 a - 6c . in the present invention , the configuration of the transverse cross - section just described is the same at one or more points along the neck portion 24 at or between about 10 mm and 22 mm below , or distal to , the expected center 26 of the femoral head 25 , as measured along the neck axis y . that is , the transverse cross - section may be the same for the entire 10 mm - 22 mm length , or lengths within the 10 mm - 22 mm range ( e . g . 14 mm - 18 mm , 12 mm - 16 mm , and the like ), depending upon where along the neck axis y the expected impingement might be . in particular , it is desirable that the inventive transverse cross - section be located along the neck of the implant such that the expected point of the impingement would be approximately in the center of the range . factors such as the size of the femoral head ( typically ranging from 28 mm to 42 mm ) and the shape and size of the bearing surface of the acetabular cup ( which may be offset from the center of the outer surface by 0 mm to 7 mm ) will affect where the point of impingement might occur along the neck . such factors are used by those of ordinary skill in the art to readily calculate the expected point of impingement along the neck axis . for example , it is generally known by the skilled artisan that a femoral implant with a 32 mm head and a perfectly semi - spherical acetabular cup would impinge approximately 16 mm down the neck axis . consequently , the femoral stem used to accommodate the 32 mm head should have the inventive transverse cross - section located within the range of about 14 mm - 18 mm ; however , it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that this range may be moved slightly along the neck axis distally or proximally if desired . moreover , while the inventive transverse cross - section may indeed be present over the entire 10 mm - 22 mm range of the femoral neck , it will also be recognized that such a design may possibly compromise the strength of the implant , and thus , it may be more preferable that the design be present within a narrower range in order to cover the expected point ( s ) of impingement , as described above . in a preferred configuration , as best illustrated in fig3 and 7 ( fig7 contains actual dimensions ), the outer edge of the anterior a and posterior p portions of the transverse cross section , as defined by the medial / lateral axis x 1 , comprises a medial arc 5 , a series of five tangent arcs 6 - 9 , and a flat edge 11 on the lateral side l . this embodiment has an advantage in that the edges are smooth and continuous and its shape allows optimal range of motion without jeopardizing strength . however , very similar cross - sections could be formed using less tangential arcs or no lateral flat without significantly altering the range of motion or strength of the neck . one of the primary advantages of the present invention is the small medial width , as defined above and illustrated herein with respect to the medially - positioned circle 40 . the embodiment illustrated herein is just one example that benefits from the small medial width of the cross section . it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the inventive femoral implant may be fabricated using any number of types metals and / or metal alloys commonly used in the manufacture of orthopedic prostheses . the novel configuration of the neck portion of the inventive femoral implant provides significant advantages over current neck designs ( i . e . circular , rectangular , oval , and trapezoid designs ). as described in example 1 , the inventive femoral implant matches or increases the range of motion for several bending activities without sacrificing the strength of the neck portion . the invention also increases the range of motion for a broad array of non - bending activities performed in daily living that are known to place the artificial joint at risk of dislocation due to impingement with the acetabulum . the preferred embodiment of the present invention provides considerable range of motion and adequate neck strength at common neck angles α typically ranging from about 125 ° to about 140 ° for a particular femoral stem . still other advantages of the invention to accommodate various neck - shaft angles , femoral stem designs , and varying femoral component materials will be readily apparent from the general description . as will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art , the invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications in various respects , all without departing from the spirit of the invention . to make an accurate assessment of the range of motion provided by the present invention , cad models were prepared of the preferred embodiment ( illustrated in fig7 ) and of conventional circular , rectangular , and trapezoidal designs . in each model , the cross - sectional geometry of the neck was held constant over a distance of 14 mm to 18 mm from the head center along the neck axis . below this level , each neck was blended to a larger version of the cross - section , such that , at a level along the neck axis 35 mm below the head center , the medial - lateral and anterior - posterior width of the cross - section increased by 9 mm ( fig5 ). the neck was placed in 15 ° of anteversion , 6 ° of adduction , and 5 ° of flexion relative to the longitudinal axis of the femur , and a load typically experienced by the femoral component during walking ( bergmann et al ., 2001 ) was applied to the head center using finite element analysis software ( unigraphics nx ). the dimensions of all four designs were scaled such that the strength of each design , as represented by the maximum von mises stress , matched that of the preferred embodiment under identical loading conditions simulating the loading of the hip during walking . the cross - sections of equalized walking strength can be seen in fig5 . after each cross - section was adjusted for equal strength , the motion of each model to impingement was simulated using cad models of a standard femoral stem utilizing each of the four different neck designs , each having a 32 mm femoral head . each model was initially positioned in 15 ° of anteversion , 6 ° of adduction , and 5 ° of flexion relative to the longitudinal axis of the femur . the head of each femoral component was articulated with a 3d solid model of an acetabular cup , placed in 45 ° of inclination and 20 ° of anteversion . each femoral component was then placed in the orientation associated with activities known to cause impingement and dislocation ( johnston and smidt 1970 , wyss 2001 , nadzadi et al ., 2003 ). for each activity , a predetermined angle of rotation was applied about two of the three axes of the hip , and the third rotation angle was increased until impingement occurred . the rotations for each activity are outlined in table 1 . results of the virtual impingement model show that the invention matched or increased the range of motion over the prior art in all six activities . for sit to stand and stooping , the range of motion was 9 ° and 5 ° greater than any of the prior art modeled . complete results of the range of motion comparison are shown in table 2 .
novel femoral implants for use in hip arthroplasty are described and illustrated . the femoral implant comprise a stem and neck portion , with the neck portion having a novel configuration that provides for improved range in motion for the prosthesis without compromising strength of the implant .