Expandable medical device and method
AssigneeWarsaw Orthopedic, Inc.
InventorsKeith E. Miller, Cristian A. Capote
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments of the invention include expandable, implantable devices and methods. Devices may be inserted with a longitudinal biasing force between anatomical structures to be stabilized and then expanded laterally or otherwise filled to provide secure fixation between or among the anatomical structures. In some embodiments, an implant replaces one or more vertebral bodies, or portions of vertebral bodies, of the spine.
Claims20
A method of stabilizing spaced apart skeletal structures comprising:
- providing an expandable medical implant comprising:
- a membrane defining a volume and including an upper surface, a substantially opposite lower surface, and a lateral diameter, and
- a biasing member including a first end, a substantially opposite second end, and a lateral diameter, wherein the biasing member is coupled to the membrane;
- grasping the first end of the biasing member;
- placing the second end of the biasing member against a second skeletal structure to compress the biasing member;
- aligning the first end of the biasing member with a first skeletal structure;
- releasing compression of the biasing member to allow the expandable medical implant to contact the first skeletal structure;
- and
- introducing fill material into the expandable medical implant to one or both maintain expansion and cause expansion of the expandable medical implant.
A method of stabilizing a portion of a vertebral column comprising:
- removing at least a portion of one or more vertebrae from a space between a first vertebra and a second vertebra;
- inserting a medical implant having a length into the space between the first vertebra and the second vertebra;
- forcing the medical implant against the second vertebra to decrease the length of the medical implant;
- allowing the medical implant to expand in length to come into contact with the first vertebra;
- and
- introducing a fill material into the medical implant to expand the medical implant laterally to occupy a portion of the space between the first vertebra and the second vertebra.
An expandable medical implant for supporting skeletal structures that are spaced apart along a longitudinal axis comprising:
- a membrane defining a volume and including an upper surface, a substantially opposite lower surface, a side between the upper and lower surfaces, and a lateral diameter substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis;
- and
- a biasing member coupled to the membrane and including a first end, a substantially opposite second end, and a lateral diameter substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis, wherein the biasing member in an expanded state is longer than the distance between the spaced apart skeletal structures to be supported;
- wherein the lateral diameter of the membrane when at least partially filled is larger than the lateral diameter of the biasing member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.