Orthopedic implant manufacturer Zimmer Holdings Inc, Warsaw, Ind, recently reported the development of its new Gender Solutions High-Flex Knee, a thinner and narrower implant than traditional implants, are reportedly more comfortable for use in women, who account for nearly two-thirds of the roughly 400,000 people who have knee replacement surgery in the United States each year.

In a statement released in the May 10, 2006, edition of the Chicago Tribune, Robert E. Booth, MD, said, “A woman’s knee is not simply a smaller version of a man’s knee.” According to Booth, chief of orthopedic surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital and a co-developer of the implant, “The differences involve the bones, ligaments and tendons in the joints.”

The Gender Solutions knee is the latest effort among medical device makers to promote their products to women. Stryker Orthopaedics, a division of the Kalamazoo, Mich-based Stryker Corp., is marketing its Triathlon Knee System to women. The knee replacements come in a variety of sizes and can be used in either gender. According to company sources, the device will be widely available by the fall.