Securing fasteners
AssigneeGlobus Medical, Inc.
InventorsMichael E. Black, Matthew Hansell, Jon Suh
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fastener, for example a bone screw, is sized to pass into an aperture of an implant, for example, a bone plate, the fastener having an anchor portion engageable with body tissue, and a head portion formed by an assembly of an insert and an anchor extension. The insert and anchor extension cooperate to form a reduced dimension passable into the aperture, and an expanded dimension not passable out of the aperture. The size of the assembly may be configurable, for example, by tabs, ramped surfaces, or an expanding diameter of a threadable insert.
Claims20
A method of securing body tissue relative to an implant comprising:
- positioning an implant having an aperture adjacent to a bone member;
- inserting a fastener having a head portion and an anchor portion into the aperture such that the anchor portion is inserted into the bone member and the head portion is retained in the aperture, wherein the head portion comprises one or more gapped regions that are cut through an upper surface of the head portion;
- and
- rotating an insert positioned within an opening in the head portion of the fastener to a locked position, wherein the insert includes one or more tabs, each of which at least partially occupies the one or more gapped regions such that the one or more tabs are at least partially positioned in the one or more gapped regions in the locked position.
A method for preventing back out of a fastener comprising:
- positioning a plate member having an aperture against a bone member;
- inserting a fastener having a head portion and an anchor portion into the aperture, wherein the anchor portion is inserted into the bone member and the head portion is engaged with the plate, wherein the head portion comprises one or more gapped regions that are cut through an upper surface of the head portion, and wherein the one or more gapped regions extend circumferentially around the head portion of the fastener;
- and
- moving an insert positioned in an opening in the head portion of the fastener to a locked position, wherein the insert includes one or more tabs, each of which occupies the one or more gapped regions such that the one or more tabs are inserted into the one or more gapped regions in the locked position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.