Expandable helical cage
First Claim
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1. An expandable intervertebral implant, comprising:
- a) a first securing piece and a second securing piece, the first securing piece forming a first end of the implant and the second securing piece forming a second end of the implant;
b) a helical body having a first end and a second end, the first end of the helical body being rotatable relative to the second end of the helical body, the first end of the helical body being permanently affixed to the first securing piece and the second end of the helical body being permanently affixed to the second securing piece; and
c) a locking arrangement extending through the helical body and operatively connecting the first and second securing pieces together, the locking arrangement being configured to selectively lock the second securing piece in a rotational orientation relative to the first securing piece;
wherein the helical body is configured to radially expand from a non-expanded configuration to an expanded configuration by rotating the first securing piece relative to the second securing piece in a direction to unwind the helical body.
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Abstract
An expandable implant having a helical body and first and second securing pieces. Ends of the helical body are connected to the first and second end pieces. The first and second end pieces can be rotated relative to one another to expand the implant from a first dimension to a selected second dimension. The implant further includes a locking arrangement to maintain the implant at the selected second dimension.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. An expandable intervertebral implant, comprising:
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a) a first securing piece and a second securing piece, the first securing piece forming a first end of the implant and the second securing piece forming a second end of the implant; b) a helical body having a first end and a second end, the first end of the helical body being rotatable relative to the second end of the helical body, the first end of the helical body being permanently affixed to the first securing piece and the second end of the helical body being permanently affixed to the second securing piece; and c) a locking arrangement extending through the helical body and operatively connecting the first and second securing pieces together, the locking arrangement being configured to selectively lock the second securing piece in a rotational orientation relative to the first securing piece; wherein the helical body is configured to radially expand from a non-expanded configuration to an expanded configuration by rotating the first securing piece relative to the second securing piece in a direction to unwind the helical body. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of expanding an expandable intervertebral implant, the method comprising the steps of:
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a) providing an implant having a helical body permanently affixed to a first end cap and a second end cap, the first and second end caps being substantially at a first and second end of the implant and being operatively connected together by a locking arrangement extending through the helical body; b) inserting the implant at an implant site; c) radially expanding the implant by rotating the first end cap relative to the second end cap so that a first end of the helical body rotates relative to a second end of the helical body such that the helical body radially expands from a first configuration to a second configuration; and d) locking the implant in the second configuration with the locking arrangement. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification