Locking bone screws and methods of use thereof
AssigneeGlobus Medical, Inc.
InventorsMichael Black, Jon Suh
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention encompasses a bone screw for use in the human body including a shaft having a threaded region along at least a portion of its length and a screw head including a locking mechanism to secure the screw, for example to a bone plate. In certain embodiments, the thread has an outer diameter dimensioned to pass through the screw hole in the implant. The screw head is configured to cooperatively engage at least a portion of the screw hole of the implant so as to prevent the screw from coming out of the implant and avoided soft tissue damage and other complications associated with unintended screw removal.
Claims16
A method for stabilizing vertebral bodies comprising the steps of:
- providing a locking bone plate;
- positioning the locking bone plate on adjacent vertebral bodies;
- providing a locking bone screw assembly, the locking bone screw assembly comprising:
- a head portion and a shaft portion adapted to be secured to a bone,
- wherein the head portion comprises an inner head portion enclosing a driver opening, the inner head portion having outward surfaces, and a plurality of flexible elements extending radially outward from the inner head portion, the flexible elements for engaging an inner surface of a hole in the bone plate in a locking arrangement such that the flexible elements are capable of resiliently deflecting to decrease the outer diameter of the head portion during insertion of the head and shaft portions into the hole in the bone plate and are capable of returning back to an initial position to allow the head portion to lock to the bone plate;
- wherein the locking bone screw assembly further comprises a locking insert with a plurality of outward surfaces associated with each of the flexible elements, wherein the flexible elements are configured to deflect inwardly toward the outward surfaces;
- wherein in an unlocked position, the locking insert is shaped to have a gap between the outward surfaces and inner surfaces of corresponding flexible elements, and wherein the locking insert is configured to snap into the head portion via one or more locking clips when the locking insert moves from the unlocked position to a locked position;
- and
- inserting the shaft portion into the bone through an opening of the locking bone plate.
A method for stabilizing vertebral bodies comprising the steps of:
- providing a bone plate;
- positioning the bone plate on adjacent vertebral bodies;
- and
- providing a locking bone screw assembly comprising:
- a head portion and a shaft portion adapted to be secured to a bone, wherein the head portion comprises an inner head portion enclosing a driver opening, the inner head portion having outward surfaces, and a plurality of flexible elements extending radially outward from the inner head portion, the flexible elements for engaging an inner surface of a hole in the bone plate in a locking arrangement such that the flexible elements are capable of resiliently deflecting to decrease the outer diameter of the head portion during insertion of the head and shaft portions into the hole in the bone plate and are capable of returning back to an initial position to allow the head portion to lock to the bone plate, wherein the head portion further comprises a locking insert with a plurality of arms, each arm defining a clip at a distal end thereof, wherein the clips snap into the head portion when the locking insert moves from an unlocked position to a locked position;
- and
- positioning the locking bone screw assembly within the bone plate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.