Expandable bone fastener and installation tool

Abstract

An expandable bone fastener adapted to be inserted into an untapped hole drilled in a bone, thereafter adapted to expand a plurality of barbs into the surrounding bone has an enlarged proximal end, a tubular outer body portion having an axial bore, a distal end having either expandable or non-expandable legs dimensioned to fit snugly within the hole, and an expansion pin slidably mounted within the axial bore. The tubular outer body portion of the expandable bone fastener has a plurality of longitudinal slots in the wall thereof to allow the expansion and retraction of the expansion pin's barbs into or out of the surrounding bone. The barbs on the expansion pin may be elastically deformed from a normal, retracted configuration to a locking, splayed configuration wherein the outer ends of the barbs extend outwardly through the slots in the tubular outer body portion to penetrate the surrounding bone as the expansion pin is moved in a proximal direction from a fully extended position. The expansion pin includes a plurality barbs located in circumferentially spaced relation about the cylindrical body of the expansion pin and positioned in various angles and positions respect to the vertical axis. In all embodiments of the expandable bone fasteners, both the tubular outer body and the expansion pin, or portions thereof, may be fabricated from bioabsorbable or non-absorbable materials, the choice of material for a particular portion of the fastener depending on the application. Hybrid embodiments are also disclosed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.