DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc

Special thanks to Janet Krevolin (Centerpulse Orthopaedics, Inc.), Ray Gsell (Zimmer, Inc.), Shi-Shen Yao and Paul Serekian (Howmedica Osteonics Corp.), Jorge Ochoa and Mark Haynes (DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc.), and David Schroeder (Biomet, Inc.) for their helpful discussions and editorial assistance with this chapter. 

Gas plasma has gained increased acceptance as a method for sterilizing UHMWPE components for total joint replacement. Gas plasma (Plazlyte system) has been used by DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., (Warsaw, Indiana, USA) since the 1990s to routinely sterilize UHMWPE components [4] (Figure 3.9). Zimmer, Inc., (Warsaw, Indiana, USA) and Stryker (Mahwah, New Jersey, USA) currently employ gas plasma for sterilization of highly crosslinked UHMWPE components (e.g., Longevity, Prolong, X3). 

Marathon is based on the collaborative research efforts of Harry McKellop, Fu-wen Shen and coworkers, at the Los Angeles Orthopedic Hospital (McKellop, Shen, and Salovey 1998), and material scientists affiliated with DePuy-Dupont Orthopaedics. The process technology was licensed to DePuy Orthopedics, Inc. (Warsaw, IN) and clinically introduced in 1998. Marathon is currently available for the Pinnacle and Dmaloc acetabular component systems. 

Highly crosslinked UHMWPE is now the most widely used alternative to conventional UHMWPE. Today, four out of the five major orthopedic manufacturers offer highly crosslinked UHMWPE for total knee arthroplasty (Prolong, Zimmer, Inc. X3, Stryker Orthopaedics XLK, DePuy Orthopedics and EPoly, Biomet, Inc.). However, there is not universal agreement in the clinical community that highly crosslinked... 

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