INTERVERTEBRAL IMPLANT AND INSTALLATION TOOL
First Claim
1. An intervertebral implant for ensuring a minimum distance between two vertebrae, comprising:
- a pair of opposing body portions each comprising an external surface and a contact surface that is oriented obliquely relative to the external surface, the body portions each comprising at least one raised structure and at least one gap positioned adjacent to the raised structure, the raised structure defining a top surface that forms at least a portion of the contact surface of the body portion, the raised structures of each body portion being insertable into the respective gaps of the other body portion such that the contact surfaces thereof define an internal wedge structure between the body portions; and
an expansion component comprising a head portion and a ram member, the expansion component being at least partially insertable between the body portions with the head portion positioned against the contact surfaces of the body portions, the ram member being operative to urge the head portion against the contact surfaces such that movement of the head portion against the internal wedge structure causes the body portions to separate thereby increasing a height of the implant.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An intervertebral implant (25), an installation tool (500), and related methods are provided for ensuring a minimum distance between two vertebrae. The implant (25) can comprise a pair of opposing body portions (1, 2) and an expansion component. The expansion component can rotate relative to the body portions (1, 2) in order to urge a head portion (4) thereof against one or more inclined contact surfaces of at least one of the body portions (1, 2). In this manner, the body portions (1, 2) can be separated, thereby increasing a height of the implant (25). The installation tool (500) can comprise a plurality of components that can be moved relative to each other to facilitate expansion or contraction of the implant (25).
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. An intervertebral implant for ensuring a minimum distance between two vertebrae, comprising:
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a pair of opposing body portions each comprising an external surface and a contact surface that is oriented obliquely relative to the external surface, the body portions each comprising at least one raised structure and at least one gap positioned adjacent to the raised structure, the raised structure defining a top surface that forms at least a portion of the contact surface of the body portion, the raised structures of each body portion being insertable into the respective gaps of the other body portion such that the contact surfaces thereof define an internal wedge structure between the body portions; and an expansion component comprising a head portion and a ram member, the expansion component being at least partially insertable between the body portions with the head portion positioned against the contact surfaces of the body portions, the ram member being operative to urge the head portion against the contact surfaces such that movement of the head portion against the internal wedge structure causes the body portions to separate thereby increasing a height of the implant. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An intervertebral implant for ensuring a minimum distance between two vertebrae, comprising:
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a first body portion comprising a first external surface and a first contact surface, the first body portion comprising at least one raised structure and at least one gap positioned adjacent to the raised structure; a second body portion comprising a second external surface and a second contact surface that is oriented obliquely relative to the first external surface, the second body portion comprising at least one raised structure and at least one gap positioned adjacent to the raised structure, the raised structure defining a top surface that forms at least a portion of the second contact surface of the body portion, each raised structure of the first body portion being insertable into the respective gap of the second body portion and each raised structure of the second body portion being insertable into the respective gap of the first body portion such that the contact surfaces thereof define an internal wedge structure between the first body portion and the second body portion; an expansion component comprising a head portion and a ram member, the expansion component being at least partially insertable between the first body portion and the second body portion with the head portion positioned against the first and second contact surfaces, the ram member being operative to urge the head portion against the first and second contact surfaces such that movement of the head portion against the internal wedge structure causes the first body portion to separate from the second body portion thereby increasing a height of the implant. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. An installation tool for an implant, the tool comprising:
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a handle member having a gripping component and an elongate tubular component extending from the gripping component, the tubular component having a hollow bore and an engagement portion disposed at a distal end thereof, the engagement portion having one or more protrusions for engaging at least a portion of a proximal end of an intervertebral implant to maintain a rotational orientation of the implant relative to the tubular component; a first rotating member having a first knob and an actuation component extending from the first knob, the actuation component having a hollow bore and a rotational connector disposed at a distal end thereof, the actuation component being configured to fit within the hollow bore of the tubular component of the handle member with the rotational connector being positioned adjacent to the engagement portion of the tubular component for engaging an expansion component of the implant for rotating the expansion component to expand or contract the implant; and a second rotating member having a second knob and a retention component extending from the second knob, the retention component having a fastening portion disposed at a distal end thereof, the retention component being configured to fit within the hollow bore of the actuation component of the first rotating member with the retention component being positioned adjacent to the rotational connector of the actuation component of the first rotational member for engaging the expansion component of the implant for maintaining an axial position of the implant relative to the handle member during rotation of the expansion component. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method of implanting an expandable intervertebral implant, comprising:
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dilating a pathway to an intervertebral disc; removing the nucleus of an intervertebral disc to define a disc cavity; scraping vertebral end plates from within the disc cavity; and deploying an intervertebral implant in the disc cavity. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification