Mechanical apparatus and method for artificial disc replacement
First Claim
1. An spinal disc device comprising:
- a flexible expansile loop, said expansile loop having an interior section, an outer section, said expansile loop composed of a woven, knitted or braided material in a tubular or a flatten form, whereby a portion of said interior section is contained within or engaged to a portion of said outer section, said expansile loop further having an interior chamber and an inner central opening, wherein said expansile loop is designed to be delivered or injected with a biocompatible material(s); and
one or more flexible control elements, said one or more control elements are designed to mechanically expand said expansile loop without pressurization within an inter-vertebral disc.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to a device and method which may be used to reinforce the native annulus during spinal surgery. The device is a catheter based device which is placed into the inter-vertebral space following discectomy performed by either traditional surgical or endoscopic approaches. The distal end of the catheter is comprised of an expansile loop which may be increased in diameter by advancement of a portion of the catheter via its proximal end, such proximal end remaining external to the body. The expansile loop may be formed of a woven or braided material and may be made of a polymer such as nylon, polyurethane, polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene or any of the well known and biocompatible polymers. Alternatively the expansile portion of the catheter may be formed from a metallic braid of stainless steel, elgiloy, Nitinol, or other biocompatible metals. The expansile loop may be formed such that when the loop is diametrically contracted the loop feeds into its other end, similar to a snake eating its own tail. Stabilization of the outer portion of the loop and pulling out the inner portion will thereby increase the overall diameter of the loop while maintaining it as a closed loop or torus. The present invention comprises four embodiments and can be used to 1) facilitate disk fusing, 2) perform an artificial replacement of the nucleus, 3) perform an artificial replacement of the annulus, or 4, perform an artificial replacement of both the nucleus and annulus.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. An spinal disc device comprising:
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a flexible expansile loop, said expansile loop having an interior section, an outer section, said expansile loop composed of a woven, knitted or braided material in a tubular or a flatten form, whereby a portion of said interior section is contained within or engaged to a portion of said outer section, said expansile loop further having an interior chamber and an inner central opening, wherein said expansile loop is designed to be delivered or injected with a biocompatible material(s); and one or more flexible control elements, said one or more control elements are designed to mechanically expand said expansile loop without pressurization within an inter-vertebral disc. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification