Prosthetic spinal discs
AssigneeInfinesse Corporation
InventorChong Kim
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A prosthetic spinal disc uses a stiff spring or springs for resiliency between two plates that attach to adjacent vertebrae. When the disc has multiple springs, they may be adjacent, concentric or nested. Multiple springs may be spaced around the periphery of the plates. A foil metal bellows may surround the plates to prevent material from entering or exiting the space between the plates. Alternatively, the ends of the spring(s) may be machined with spikes to engage the vertebrae directly without plates.
Claims29
A prosthetic spinal disc for being received between opposed surfaces of two adjacent vertebrae, the vertebrae having a common longitudinal axis, wherein the spinal disc comprises:
- a) a fitting sized to be received within the prosthesis receiving opening, the fitting having an upper section and a lower section movable relative to each other, b) each upper and lower section having an outer surface, at least part of the outer surface of the upper and lower sections of the fitting conforming to the opposed surfaces of the prosthesis receiving opening;
- c) at least one spring received within a space between the upper and lower sections, the spring biasing the upper and lower sections apart, the spring being generally aligned with the axis with the vertebrae's common longitudinal axis.
A prosthetic spinal disc for being received between two adjacent vertebrae in a body, the vertebrae having a common longitudinal axis, wherein the spinal disc comprises:
- a) a fitting sized to be received within a space between the opposed vertebrae, the fitting having an upper plate and a lower plate movable relative to each other;
- b) at least one spring received between the upper and lower plates, the spring under compressive load biasing the upper and lower plates apart, the at least one spring being a coil spring having an axis generally aligned with the axis with the vertebrae's common longitudinal axis;
- c) the at least one spring having means to prevent adjacent coils of the coil spring from contacting each other when the spring is compressed to its maximum compression in the body.
A prosthetic spinal disc for being received between two adjacent vertebrae in a body comprising:
- (a) an upper and a lower plate, each plate attached to one of the adjacent vertebrae, each plate having dimensions approximately the same as each other and a periphery around each plate;
- (b) a plurality of coil springs between and spaced about the periphery the upper and lower plates, the springs being attached to the upper and lower plates;
- (c) each spring having means for preventing adjacent coils from contacting each other.
A prosthetic spinal disc for being received between two adjacent vertebrae in a body comprising:
- a) a spring formed of spring wire having two ends;
- and
- b) at least one end coil at each end of the spring wire being wound into a plane, the spring wire turning from the plane into a helical shape;
- c) spikes extending outward from the at least one end coil for directly connecting to the adjacent vertebrae.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.