Prosthetic disc for intervertebral insertion
AssigneeSimplify Medical Pty Ltd
InventorsMalan De Villiers, Ulrich Hahnle
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A prosthetic disc for insertion between adjacent vertebrae includes a core having upper and lower curved surfaces, upper and lower plates, and peripheral restraining structure on at least one of the upper plate, the lower plate and the core. Each plate has an outer surface which engages a vertebra and an inner curved surface which slides over the curved surface of the core. The peripheral restraining structure serves to hold the core against a curved surface of at least one of the plates during sliding movement of the plates over the core.
Claims19
A prosthetic disc for insertion between adjacent vertebrae, the prosthetic disc comprising:
- upper and lower plates, each plate having an outer surface which engages a vertebra and a curved inner bearing surface;
- a core having first and second outer surfaces which are each complementary in shape to, mate with and slide over the corresponding bearing surfaces of the upper and lower plates in an implantation configuration when the prosthetic disc is inserted between adjacent vertebrae;
- and
- a retaining formation on the lower plate, the retaining formation including at least one inwardly facing groove at an edge of the curved inner bearing surface of the lower plate;
- wherein an outwardly facing flange defines an outer periphery of the core, the flange configured to engage the retaining formation on the lower plate to hold the core between the upper and lower plates as the core slides over the bearing surface of the lower plate, and
- wherein the entire core is moveable with respect to the upper and lower plates in the implantation configuration.
A method of retaining a core in a prosthetic disc for insertion between adjacent vertebrae, the method comprising:
- providing upper and lower plates, each plate having an outer surface which engages a vertebra and a curved inner bearing surface;
- providing a retaining formation on the lower plate, the retaining formation including at least one inwardly facing grove at an edge of the curved inner bearing surface of the lower plate;
- inserting a core between the upper and lower plates, the core having first and second outer surfaces which are each complementary in shape to, mate with and slide over the corresponding bearing surfaces of the upper and lower plates in an implantation configuration when the prosthetic disc is inserted between adjacent vertebrae, wherein an outwardly facing flange defines an outer periphery of the core;
- holding the core between the upper and lower plates by causing the at least one outwardly facing flange of the core to engage the retaining formation on the lower plate to hold the core between the upper and lower plates as the core slides over the bearing surface of the lower plate, while allowing the upper and lower plates to move with respect to one another and with respect to the entire core.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.