Expandable reamer
First Claim
1. A reamer comprising:
- a shank;
a reamer body having a longitudinal axis; and
a blade formed in said reamer body, said blade deformable between a contracted position and an expanded position.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An expandable reamer includes, in one exemplary embodiment thereof, a cannulated shaft and a plurality of straight cutting blades having deformable points. The blades are hingably outwardly rotatable at the deformation points between a contracted position and an expanded position. In the contracted position, the blades are substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cannulated shaft and, in the expanded position, the blades have at least a portion oriented radially outward from the longitudinal axis, thereby forming a larger diameter cutting surface in the expanded position and in the contracted position. The blades are formed from a portion of the cannulated shaft by, e.g. milling longitudinally extending slots through the wall of the cannulated shaft, the slots serving as flutes dividing the cutting edge and trailing edge of each adjacent blade. Each blade may also include more than one segment arranged along its length, the segments coupled by deformation points. The expandable reamer may be used for cutting a cavity in a bone or other structure that is larger than the diameter of the entry point into the bone and greater than the diameter of the contracted reamer.
199 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A reamer comprising:
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a shank;
a reamer body having a longitudinal axis; and
a blade formed in said reamer body, said blade deformable between a contracted position and an expanded position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A reamer, comprising:
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a shank;
a reamer body having a longitudinal axis;
a blade formed in said reamer body; and
deformation means for deforming said blade between a contracted position and an expanded position. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A reamer, comprising:
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a cannulated shaft having a wall, a proximate end and a distal end, said cannulated shaft defining a longitudinal axis, said wall having a plurality of slots therethrough, said plurality of slots extending from said distal end toward said proximate end; and
a plurality of blades, each one of said plurality of blades defined by said wall between adjacent ones of said plurality of slots. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method of reaming a cavity in a bone, comprising:
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providing an expandable reamer having blades moveable between a contracted position and an expanded position;
boring an opening in the bone, the opening having a diameter at least as large as a diameter of the expandable reamer in a contracted position;
inserting the expandable reamer into the opening, the expandable reamer being in the contracted position;
rotating the expandable reamer while moving the blades to the expanded position;
contracting the expandable reamer to the contracted position; and
removing the expandable reamer from the cavity. - View Dependent Claims (33)
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Specification