Posterior lumbar interbody fusion expandable cage with lordosis and method of deploying the same
First Claim
1. A spinal fusion cage comprising:
- an upper half-cage;
a lower half-cage; and
a plunger with a cam, where the upper half-cage and lower half-cage have a first collapsed configuration which has a thin, flat, rectangular envelope and a second expanded configuration, the half-cages having at least one ramped surface on which the cam of the plunger rides, the cam bearing against the ramped surface and spreading the two half-cages apart.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A spinal fusion cage comprises an upper half-cage, a lower half-cage, and a plunger with a cam. The upper half-cage and lower half-cage have a first collapsed configuration which has a thin, flat, rectangular envelope and a second expanded configuration. The half-cages have at least one ramped surface on which the cam of the plunger rides. The cam bears against the ramped surface and spreading the two half-cages apart. A method of deploying a spinal fusion cage comprises the steps of disposing in a spinal space an upper half-cage and lower half-cage in a first collapsed configuration which has a thin, flat, rectangular envelope and a second expanded configuration. The method continues with the step of distally advancing a plunger between the upper half-cage and lower half-cage and spreading the two half-cages apart.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A spinal fusion cage comprising:
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an upper half-cage;
a lower half-cage; and
a plunger with a cam, where the upper half-cage and lower half-cage have a first collapsed configuration which has a thin, flat, rectangular envelope and a second expanded configuration, the half-cages having at least one ramped surface on which the cam of the plunger rides, the cam bearing against the ramped surface and spreading the two half-cages apart. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A spinal fusion cage is comprised of:
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an upper half-cage;
a lower half-cage; and
a plunger, where the upper half-cage has a distal portion which nests with the opposing distal portion of the lower half-cage so that the two half-cages provide a thin, flat, rectangular envelope, the half-cages have at least one inner ramped surface on which a cam of the plunger rides, the cam bearing against the ramped surface and distally spreading the two half-cages apart, at least one ramped surface on the proximal portion of the plunger bearing against an adjacent proximal interior surface of at least one of the half-cages so that at the same time as the plunger is being slid distally, the half-cages are being forced apart proximally.
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13. A spinal fusion cage is comprised of:
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an upper half-cage;
a lower half-cage; and
a plunger, where the upper half-cage has a distal portion which nests with the opposing distal portion of the lower half-cage so that the two half-cages provide a thin, flat, rectangular envelope, the half-cages have opposing inner ramped surfaces on which a top and bottom cam surface of the plunger rides, the cam bears against the ramped surfaces on the interior surfaces of the two half-cages and distally spreads them apart, two ramped surfaces on the proximal portion of the plunger bear against adjacent proximal interior surfaces of the half-cages so that at the same time as the plunger is being slid distally, the half-cages are forced apart proximally.
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14. An assembly kit for a spinal fusion cage is comprised of:
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a removable pusher tool;
an upper and lower half-cage having parallel longitudinal axes; and
a plunger which is slid between the half-cages by means of the removable pusher tool, where the half-cages are shaped in a complementary fashion so that when the upper half-cage is disposed on top of the lower half-cage, a distal portion of the lower and upper half-cages mesh with each other, so that the two half-cages assume the form of a collapsed fusion cage to provide a thin, flat, rectangular envelope with parallel upper and lower surfaces, the half-cages have opposing inner ramped surfaces on which a top and bottom cam surface of the plunger rides, as the plunger is forced distally between the two half-cages by the pusher tool, the cam which bears against the ramped surfaces on the interior surfaces of the two half-cages distally spreading the two half-cages apart in a direction perpendicular to their longitudinal axis, two symmetrically formed ramped surfaces on the proximal portion of the plunger bear against the proximal interior surfaces of the half-cages so that at the same time as the plunger is being slid distally towards a locked final position by the pusher tool, the half-cages are forced apart proximally, the ramps on the two half-cages and on the plunger being designed so that a desired degree of lordosis is obtained between the two-cages when in their final configuration. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A method of deploying a spinal fusion cage comprising:
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disposing in a spinal space an upper half-cage and lower half-cage in a first collapsed configuration which has a thin, flat, rectangular envelope and a second expanded configuration, the half-cages having at least one ramped surface on which the cam of the plunger rides; and
distally advancing a plunger between the upper half-cage and lower half-cage, the plunger having a cam bearing against the ramped surface and spreading the two half-cages apart. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification