Apparatus and Method for Use in the Treatment of Hammertoe
First Claim
1. An apparatus for coupling at least two pieces of host material together comprising:
- a hollow proximal half with an internal surface and an external surface for implantation into one of the two pieces of the host material;
a hollow distal half with an internal surface and an external surface for implantation into the other one of the two pieces of host material;
and means for threadably engaging the distal half and proximal half together.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The apparatus and method is directed to a pair of self-tapping, interconnecting, externally and internally threaded devices that, when installed between two separate pieces of material, will draw and hold the material together as a single threaded unit. While the pair of threaded devices are being fastened into the host material, due to the unique design of their threads, no radial outward forces are produced that could cause cracking or splitting of the sections of the material into which they are installed. The external threads are helically defined into the exterior of each half of the device with a right hand thread defined into one half and a left hand thread into the other half. When the two halves are being fastened together, the increased thread pitch on one of the halves continuously draws the halves into each other even when the internal threads have already been maximally tightened.
12 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for coupling at least two pieces of host material together comprising:
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a hollow proximal half with an internal surface and an external surface for implantation into one of the two pieces of the host material; a hollow distal half with an internal surface and an external surface for implantation into the other one of the two pieces of host material; and means for threadably engaging the distal half and proximal half together. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for coupling at least two pieces of host material together with an adjustable device comprising:
- inserting a proximal half of the device into a proximal one of the two pieces of the host material;
inserting a distal half of the device into a distal one of the two pieces of the host material; and
coupling the proximal one of the two pieces of the host material to the distal one of the two pieces of the host material by means of the proximal half of the device. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
- inserting a proximal half of the device into a proximal one of the two pieces of the host material;
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18. A method for coupling at least two pieces of host material together with an adjustable device comprising:
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inserting a proximal half of the device into a proximal one of the two pieces of the host material; inserting a distal half of the device into a distal one of the two pieces of the host material; coupling the proximal one of the two pieces of the host material to the distal one of the two pieces of the host material by means of the proximal half of the device and the distal half of the device which has been inserted into each respective one of the two pieces of the host material; collecting any debris from the host material in a repository defined into each of the proximal and distal halves of the device when each respective device half is being inserted into its respective one of the two pieces of the host material; and adjusting the distance between the proximal one of the two pieces of the host material and the distal one of the two pieces of the host material by means of rotating the distal half of the device after it has been jointed to the proximal half of the device. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification