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US 2021/0228376 A1Published application
Articulating expandable interbody fusions devices
AssigneeGlobus Medical, Inc.
InventorsTy Hessler, Chad Glerum, Mark Weiman, Albert Hill, Myles Sullivan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Articulating expandable fusion devices, systems, instruments, and methods thereof. The articulating expandable fusion implant having a plurality of links is capable of being deployed and articulated inside an intervertebral disc space link by link. After the links are articulated into a polygonal shape, the links may be expanded outwardly into an expanded configuration. Instruments may be provided to articulate and expand the implant.
Claims20
An expandable implant comprising:
- a first link, a second link pivotally connected to the first link, and a third link pivotally connected to the second link,
- each of the links comprises an upper body having one or more ramped surfaces, a lower body having one or more ramped surfaces, and a middle body positioned between the upper and lower bodies and having one or more ramped surfaces, wherein translation of the middle bodies causes the one or more ramped surfaces of the middle bodies to slide against the one or more ramped surfaces of the upper and lower bodies, thereby resulting in expansion of the expandable implant.
An implantable device comprising:
- a plurality of links configured to articulate with respect to one another, each of the links comprises an upper body, a lower body, and a middle body positioned between the upper and lower bodies, the upper body includes an upper bone contacting surface configured to engage bone and a lower surface having a first ramp, the lower body includes an upper surface having a second ramp and a lower bone contacting surface configured to engage bone, the middle body includes an upper surface having a third ramp and a lower surface having a fourth ramp, the first ramp of the upper body mates with the third ramp of the middle body and the second ramp of the lower body mates with the fourth ramp of the middle body,
- wherein movement of the middle body causes the third ramp to slide against the first ramp and the fourth ramp to slide against the second ramp, thereby resulting in an outward expansion of the upper and lower bodies of the plurality of links.
An implantable system comprising:
- an articulatable and expandable implant, the implant comprises a plurality of links pivotally connected to one another, each of the links comprises an upper body having one or more ramped surfaces, a lower body having one or more ramped surfaces, and a middle body positioned between the upper and lower bodies and having one or more ramped surfaces configured to mate with the one or more ramped surfaces of the upper and lower bodies, respectively, and
- an inserter instrument having a guide tube, an insertion driver, and a cable, the guide tube is configured for deploying the plurality of links into a disc space, the insertion driver and cable are configured for articulating the plurality of links into a polygon, and the cable is further configured for applying an inward force against the middle bodies of the links to translate the middle bodies towards a center of the polygon, thereby causing linear expansion of the upper and lower bodies.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.