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US 10,940,016 B2Granted
Expandable intervertebral fusion cage
AssigneeMedos International Sarl
InventorsDaniel Thommen, Joern Richter, Thomas M. DiMauro
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An expandable intervertebral fusion cage is independently expandable vertically and laterally. The fusion cage includes a cage body that can receive an expansion member that causes the fusion cage to expand vertically. The cage body is responsive to a compressive force to move to an expanded lateral position, whereby the fusion cage defines a substantially circular annular profile.
Claims23
An intervertebral fusion cage comprising:
- a cage body that defines a leading end with respect to a direction of insertion into an intervertebral space, a trailing end opposite the leading end along a longitudinal direction, an upper vertebral engagement body that defines an upper vertebral contacting surface, a lower vertebral engagement body that defines a lower vertebral contacting surface spaced from the upper vertebral contacting surface along a transverse direction that is substantially perpendicular with respect to the longitudinal direction, and first and second side walls that extend between the leading end and the trailing end, the first and second side walls opposite each other along a lateral direction that is substantially perpendicular to each of the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction,
- wherein the lower and upper vertebral engagement bodies are separated from each other by a gap of the cage body that extends from a distal-most surface of the leading end to a proximal-most surface of the trailing end such that the lower and upper vertebral engagement bodies are movable away from each other in their respective entireties along the transverse direction so as to expand the intervertebral fusion cage from a first transverse position to an expanded transverse position, and
- wherein at least respective portions of the first and second side walls are movable away from each other different distances so as to expand the intervertebral fusion cage from a first lateral position to an expanded lateral position, whereby in the expanded lateral position the first and second side walls are spaced from each other along the lateral direction a first distance at a first location spaced from both the trailing end and a midline between the leading end and the trailing end with respect to the longitudinal direction, and the first and second side walls are spaced from each other along the lateral direction a second distance at a second location between the first location and the leading end, the second location is different than the first location, and the second distance is greater than the first distance.
An intervertebral fusion cage comprising:
- a cage body that defines a leading end with respect to a direction of insertion into an intervertebral space, a trailing end opposite the leading end along a longitudinal direction, an upper vertebral engagement body that defines an upper vertebral contacting surface, a lower vertebral engagement body that defines a lower vertebral contacting surface spaced from the upper vertebral contacting surface along a transverse direction that is substantially perpendicular with respect to the longitudinal direction, and first and second side walls that extend between the leading end and the trailing end, the first and second side walls opposite each other along a lateral direction that is substantially perpendicular to each of the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction,
- a core having an insertion height prior to insertion into the cage body, the core configured for insertion into the cage body at the insertion height between the upper vertebral contacting surface and the lower vertebral contacting surface, the insertion height of the core being sufficient along the transverse direction such that insertion of the core between the upper vertebral engagement body and the lower vertebral engagement body at the insertion height causes the core to bear against the upper and lower vertebral engagement bodies, thereby urging the intervertebral fusion cage to expand along the transverse direction,
- wherein the cage body is expandable from a first lateral position whereby the side walls extend substantially parallel to each other to an expanded lateral position whereby the first and second side walls move away from each other to a position that defines a substantially circular shape.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.