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AssigneeOrthohelix Surgical Designs, Inc.
InventorsLee A. STRNAD, Dustin DUCHARME, Andrew J. LEITHER, Derek S. LEWIS, Amanda MARTIN
Estimating the term…
A surgical drill guide for positioning, aligning, and of holes to be drilled in bone tissue has retaining means that holds the position and alignment of the drill guide body in a releasable manner with respect to a fastener hole in an orthopedic implant. The retaining means is a key guide that mates with a key way or key ways in or around a threaded locking hole of an orthopedic plate for alignment of a pilot hole and method of using the guide. The key guide has 2 to 8 projections that extend in the direction of the axis of the hole, such as hemi cylindrical projections, and the plate has a corresponding female key way that receives the retaining means. The invention also relates to a method of aligning a locking fastener in a plate at a desired angle relative to a bone by using a surgical guide having a key interface with the plate to position and align a pilot hole.
-4. (canceled)
A method of forming a bone construct for a bone that comprises selecting a plate having one or more through holes for a fastener, where one of more of the holes include an internal thread that mates with a threaded portion on the fastener the method comprising the step of placing the plate on the bone and using a drill guide having a distal end having at least one longitudinally extending projection that mates with a corresponding recess in the through hole in the plate to hold the drill guide at a desired angle relative to the bone, and using the drill guide to guide the angle of a hole in the bone and engaging a fastener which extends through the plate into the hole in the bone and locking the fastener at a desired angle relative to the plate by the screwing the threaded portion of the fastener into the internal thread in the hole in the plate.
A method as set forth in claim 8 wherein the distal end further includes a shoulder and the through hole include a counterbore that receives the shoulder.
-12. (canceled)
A method of forming a bone construct for a bone that comprises selecting a plate having one or more through holes for a fastener, the method comprising the step of placing the plate on the bone and using a drill guide having a distal end having a key that comprises at least one longitudinally extending projection that mates with a key way comprising a corresponding recess in the through hole in the plate to hold the drill guide at a desired angle relative to the bone, and using the drill guide to guide the angle of a hole in the bone and engaging a fastener which extends through the plate into the hole in the bone.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.