Non-soft tissue repair

• US 7,682,400 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2005
• Issued: 03/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Spinal Ventures, LLC
• Original Assignee: Spinal Ventures, LLC
• Inventors: Zwirkoski, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Isabella; David
• Assistant Examiner(s): STEWART, JASON-DENNIS NEILKEN
• Application Number:
  US11/298,961
• Publication Number:
  US 20060184246A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,565 Days
• Field of Search: 623/16.11, 623 1711- 1716, 606/105
• US Class Current: 623/23.48
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/686 Plugs, i.e. elements forming interface between bone hole and implant or fastener, e.g. screw
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/7094 Solid vertebral fillers; devices for inserting such fillers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/7097 Stabilisers comprising fluid filler in an implant, e.g. balloon; devices for inserting or filling such implants disc prostheses made of inflatable chambers or pockets filled with fluid A61F2/441; replacing the nucleus pulposus A61F2002/444
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/8635 Tips of screws
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/8863 Apparatus for shaping or cutting osteosynthesis equipment by medical personnel
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/30749 Fixation appliances for connecting prostheses to the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/442 Intervertebral or spinal discs, e.g. resilient non-disc-shaped intervertebral inflatable pockets A61F2/441; non-disc-shaped intervertebral fusion implants A61F2/4455
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/4425 made of articulated components
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/46 Special tools or methods for implanting or extracting artificial joints, accessories, bone grafts or substitutes, or particular adaptations therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/4611 of spinal prostheses
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/2835 Bone graft implants for filling a bony defect or an endoprosthesis cavity, e.g. by synthetic material or biological material
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/302 toroidal, e.g. rings
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30331 made by longitudinally pushing a protrusion into a complementarily-shaped recess, e.g. held by friction fit
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30383 made by laterally inserting a protrusion, e.g. a rib into a complementarily-shaped groove
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30462 retained or tied with a rope, string, thread, wire or cable
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30495 using a locking ring
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30604 modular
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30662 with rotation-limiting means
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30663 multiaxial, e.g. biaxial; multipolar, e.g. bipolar or having an intermediate shell articulating between the ball and the socket
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/4415 elements of the prosthesis being arranged in a chain like manner
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/443 : having two transversal endplates and at least one intermediate component
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/444 : for replacing the nucleus pulposus

Abstract

An implant for filling and/or distracting a body region, particularly a non-soft tissue cavity, has a plurality of segments wherein at least two of the segments are flexibly connected. The segments have a crush-strength sufficient to create and/or maintain the distraction of two or more non-soft tissue body surfaces, and to maintain the stability of the body region. The implant may be inserted into a cavity by an applicator having a cannula with a distal opening, and a rotary driver for applying force to move the implant within the cannula.

Claims

1. An implant for insertion into a non-soft body region, comprising:

a first flexible elongate tube having an inner region;

a plurality of segments fixed within the inner region of the first flexible elongate tube, each of said plurality of segments having a compressive strength greater than about 20 Mpa; and

a settable fluent material disposed within the inner region of the first flexible elongate tube, wherein the first flexible elongate tube, the plurality of segments, and the settable fluent material are configured to form a stable construct within a non-soft body region.

2. The implant of claim 1, wherein the plurality of segments comprise a linear array.

3. The implant of claim 1, further comprising a flexible outer tube surrounding the first flexible, elongate tube.

4. The implant of claim 1, wherein the settable fluent material comprises activatable cement.

5. The implant of claim 1, wherein the settable fluent material comprises cement that is activated by electromagnetic energy.

6. The implant of claim 1, wherein at least two of the segments are flexibly connected by a filament.

7. The implant of claim 1, wherein the segments are configured to interlock.

8. The implant of claim 1, wherein the first flexible, elongate tube is at least partially porous and configured to pass the settable fluent material from within the first flexible elongate tube.

9. The implant of claim 1, wherein at least some of the segments are held in a substantially fixed location relative to the first elongate flexible tube along an axis of the implant.

10. The implant of claim 1, wherein the first flexible elongate tube has a first dimension located at each of the plurality of segments and a second dimension located between adjacent pairs of the plurality of segments, the first dimension being greater than the second dimension.

11. The implant of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of segments includes a plurality of protrusions that perforate the flexible elongate tube.

12. An implant for insertion into a non-soft body region, comprising:

a first flexible elongate tube having an inner region;

a second, flexible elongate tube having an inner region, wherein the second flexible elongate tube is at least partly contained within the first flexible elongate tube;

a plurality of segments fixed within the inner region of the second flexible elongate tube, each of said plurality of segments having a compressive strength greater than about 20 Mpa; and

a settable fluent material disposed within at least one of the first and second flexible elongate tubes, and wherein the first flexible elongate tube, the second flexible elongate tube, the plurality of segments, and the settable fluent material are configured to form a stable construct within a non-soft body region.

13. The implant of claim 12, wherein the first flexible elongate tube is porous.

14. The implant of claim 12, wherein the second flexible elongate tube is porous.

15. The implant of claim 12, wherein the settable fluent material is contained between the first and second flexible elongate tubes.

16. The implant of claim 12, wherein at least some of the segments are held in a substantially fixed location relative to the first elongate flexible tube along an axis of the implant.

17. The implant of claim 12, wherein the first flexible elongate tube has a first dimension located at each of the plurality of segments and a second dimension located between adjacent pairs of the plurality of segments, the first dimension being greater than the second dimension.

18. An implant for insertion into a non-soft body region, comprising:

a first flexible elongate tube having an inner region;

a plurality of segments fixed within the inner region of the first flexible elongate tube, each of said plurality of segments having a compressive strength greater than about 20 Mpa;

a settable fluent material within the inner region of the first flexible elongate tube; and

a transmission path configured to transmit electromagnetic energy to harden the fluent material to form a stable construct within a non-soft body region.

19. The implant of claim 18, wherein the passage comprises a filament.

20. The implant of claim 18, wherein at least one of the segments comprises a material configured to transmit light.

21. The implant of claim 18, wherein at least some of the segments are held in a substantially fixed location relative to the first elongate flexible tube along an axis of the implant.

22. The implant of claim 18, wherein the first flexible elongate tube has a first dimension located at each of the plurality of segments and a second dimension located between adjacent pairs of the plurality of segments, the first dimension being greater than the second dimension.