Automatic bone mill
AssigneeMedtronic, Inc. d/b/a Medtronic Midas Rex
InventorsCameron McPherson, Larry Dale Estes, Scott A. Singer, Kevin T. Foley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A bone mill for use in a surgical or otherwise sterile environment includes a particle reducer such as a pulverizing blade, a motor such as an electrical motor, and a coupling such as a rotary shaft for connecting the particle reducer to the motor.
Claims32
An automatic surgical mill for use in a sterile environment, comprising:
- a particle reducer positioned inside a sterile compartment;
- a motor for providing a rotational force;
- and
- a coupling for connecting the particle reducer to the motor so that the rotational force is applied to the particle reducer.
An automatic bone mill comprising:
- a cup-like mill casing body defining a cutter receiving space and having an open upper end;
- a mill casing cover detachably covering said open upper end of said mill casing body;
- a rotatable pulverizing cutter positioned in the cutter receiving space;
- a torque transfer device for providing a rotational force to the rotatable pulverizing cutter and adaptable to connect to a motor for providing the rotational force;
- wherein said mill casing body, said mill casing cover, and said rotatable pulverizing cutter are capable of maintaining a sterile environment by being separated from the motor.
A bone cutting device for use in a surgical environment, comprising:
- a pulverizing blade;
- and
- a rotatable shaft connected to the blade and selectively connectable to a powered surgical instrument.
A hand-held automatic bone mill for use in a sterile environment, comprising:
- a motor;
- a casing for surrounding and securing the motor and for defining a chamber for receiving bone and other material, wherein the casing is shaped to be easily held by a single hand of a user;
- a rotatable shaft connected to the motor and extending into the chamber;
- a particle reducing device connected to the rotatable shaft for impacting the bone and other material in the chamber;
- a switch connected to the casing and activatable by a user when the user is holding the casing, the switch for selectively controlling an operational mode of the motor.
An automatic bone mill for use in a surgical environment, comprising:
- first and second casing portions for defining a milling chamber and for selectively attaching and de-attaching with each other;
- a particle reducer including a blade disposed in the milling chamber and a first shaft extending from the blade through the second casing portion;
- a motor for providing a rotational force to a second shaft;
- a third casing portion for surrounding the motor and for selectively attaching and de-attaching with the second casing portion;
- and
- a detachable coupling for selectively engaging the first shaft with the second shaft.
A method of using a bone mill in a sterile environment, the method comprising:
- placing a piece of bone inside a sterile casing, the sterile casing including a sterile bone particle reducer connected to a sterile shaft extending externally from the casing;
- attaching the sterile shaft to a motor;
- activating the motor to rotate the sterile bone particle reducer, thereby milling the bone;
- removing the shaft from the motor;
- and
- removing the milled bone from the sterile casing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.