Clavicle Plate and Screws
AssigneeBioDynamics LLC
InventorsJames D. Ralph, Thomas N. Troxell, Mark Michels, Thomas D. Meade
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A bone plate and system is provided. The bone fixation plate conforms to the contour of an irregularly shaped bone and eliminates the need for pre-bending or intraoperative bending of the plate. The bone plate is applied to the bone in a generally flat condition and the process of installing and tightening the bone screws in the prescribed order serves to contour the plate to the underlying bone while providing sufficient strength to effect bone healing. The geometry of the plate allows the plate to follow the contour of an irregularly shaped bone, preventing prominence and patient palpability and streamlining the surgical procedure.
Claims6
1-23. (canceled)
A method for plating a fractured irregularly shaped bone comprising:
- i) aligning the fractured bone segments;
- ii) positioning a bone plate on a surface of the aligned fractured bone segments, the bone plate having:
- a top surface;
- two ends positioned on opposing sides of the bone plate;
- a midsection disposed between the two ends;
- and
- at least one hole at each of the two ends extending through the plate and designed to receive bone screws;
- the underside profile of the plate being concave in the midsection and transitioning to a different underside profile at each of the two ends, and the two ends being thinner than the midsection of the plate;
- and
- iii) inserting a bone screw into each of the holes at each end of the bone plate, wherein insertion of the bone screw allows the each end to bend and twist to meet the bone surface with only the compressive force of the bone screw.
The method of claim 1, further comprising inserting fragment screws into the fractured bone segments prior to step (i).
The method of claim 1, wherein the two ends of the bone plate have scalloped edges.
The method of claim 1, wherein the bone plate comprises at least one hole in the midsection and the method further comprises inserting a bone screw in to the at least one hole in the midsection.
The method of claim 1, wherein the bone screws have a thread depth ratio of 1.5 to 2.0.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.