Multi-walled placeholder
AssigneeBiedermann Technologies GmbH & Co. KG
InventorsLutz Biedermann, Wilfried Matthis, Helmar Rapp
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A placeholder for vertebrae or vertebral discs includes a tubular body, which along its jacket surface has a plurality of breakthroughs or openings for over-growth with adjacent tissue. The placeholder includes at least a second tubular body provided with a plurality of breakthroughs and openings at least partially inside the first tubular body. The first and second tubular bodies can have different cross-sectional shapes, can be are arranged inside one another by press fit or force fit or can be connected to each other via connecting pins and arranged side by side to one another in the first body.
Claims18
A placeholder for implantation in a human or animal body, the placeholder having a first end, a second end, and a longitudinal axis extending through the first and second ends, the placeholder comprising:
- an inner surface extending between the first end and the second end and defining an inner cavity that extends along the longitudinal axis, wherein a plurality of openings are defined by and extend through the inner surface;
- an outer surface extending around an outside of the placeholder, wherein a plurality of openings are defined by and extend through the outer surface, and wherein a plurality of pathways extend between the openings of the inner and outer surfaces along respective axes that are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis;
- and
- a plurality of connecting portions that extend between the inner and outer surfaces to integrally connect the inner and outer surfaces in a fixed and unadjustable manner, the connecting portions at least partially defining a plurality of spaces each extending entirely unobstructed between the inner and outer surfaces from the first end to the second end along respective axes that are parallel to the longitudinal axis, wherein at least one of the connecting portions is spaced apart axially from the first and second ends;
- wherein a minimum distance between the outer surface and one of the spaces is a first distance and a minimum distance between the outer surface and another one of the spaces is a second distance that is greater than the first distance.
A placeholder for implantation in a human or animal body, the placeholder having a first end, a second end, and a longitudinal axis extending through the first and second ends, the placeholder comprising:
- an inner surface extending between the first end and the second end and defining an inner cavity that extends along the longitudinal axis, wherein a plurality of diamond-shaped openings are defined by and extend through the inner surface;
- an outer surface extending around an outside of the placeholder, wherein a plurality of diamond-shaped openings are defined by and extend through the outer surface;
- a plurality of connecting portions that extend between and connect the inner and outer surfaces, the connecting portions at least partially defining a plurality of spaces each extending entirely unobstructed between the inner and outer surfaces from the first end to the second end along respective axes that are parallel to the longitudinal axis;
- and
- at least one projection at the first end that projects axially away from other portions of the placeholder to a free end having at least a region that is positioned away from the inner and outer surfaces in a lateral direction;
- wherein a plurality of pathways are formed between respective ones of the openings of the inner surface and corresponding ones of the openings of the outer surface, wherein for each of the pathways, a center of the diamond-shaped opening of the inner surface is aligned with a center of the diamond-shaped opening of the outer surface along an axis that is substantially normal to the inner surface, such that the pathway has a diamond-shaped profile corresponding to the diamond-shaped opening of the inner surface that extends entirely unobstructed from the inner cavity to an outside of the placeholder along the axis that is substantially normal to the inner surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.