Auxiliary device for osteosynthesis
OwnerDietmar Penniginventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An external fixator for osteosynthesis features application to the fixation of fractures of small bones such as those of the hand or foot. A small central unit contains two ball joints which are releasably clamped via a single actuation. Bone fasteners, such as bone pins or bone screws are releasably clamped, via a single actuation at each of two clamping units, and each of the clamping units is adjustably clamped to a carrier rod within a wide range of selected positions, which extends to the smallest of offsets from the central double-ball joint unit, by reason of the fact that the ball of each ball joint is the inner end of one of the respective carrier rods.
Claims23
An auxiliary osteosynthesis device for fastening spaced portions of a fractured bone via two clamping units (1, 2) each of which is adapted for mounted reception of at least two spaced bone-anchoring pins or screws (4, 5), the said clamping units being adjustably spaced and interconnected by a twin ball-joint assembly (3) that can be releasably locked in desired position and by an elongate carrier rod (7, 8) that is associated with each of the respective ball joints, each of said clamping units (1, 2) comprising at least two plates having flat surfaces in face-to-face adjacency and each of said plates having a set of bores;
- transverse to the adjacent plate surfaces, the set of bores of one plate being in alignment with respect to the set of bores of an adjacent plate for the mounted reception of said at least two spaced bone-anchoring pins or screws and selectively operable means reacting between said adjacent plates for incrementally displacing said one plate with respect to said adjacent plate for developing misalignment of the bores of each set and thereby developing a clamped engagement of said adjacent plates to said at least two spaced bone-anchoring pins or screws.
An external fixator for secure retention of separate portions of a fractured bone, said fixator comprising a twin ball-joint assembly wherein separate carrier rods extend in opposite directions from their respective connections to said assembly via the respective balls of said joints and wherein both said ball joints are releasably lockable to maintain a given orientation of said carrier rods with respect to each other, two bone-fastener modules each of which comprises a module body that is adjustably positionable along a different one of said carrier rods and releasably clampable in selected rod position;
- said twin ball-joint assembly comprising an annular body having peripherally continuous inner and outer surfaces, said annular body having aligned bores on a single alignment through opposite peripheral body locations, the inner surface of said annular body at each of said bores being characterized by an inwardly flared concave ball-seating formation adapted for seating support of the ball of each of the respective ball joints, the respective balls being received in each of said seating formations with a ball-connected carrier rod projecting externally of said annular body via the associated ball-seating bore, and a single selectively operable means including an adjustably positionable wedge between balls seated in the respective concave seating formations for selectively and releasably outwardly driving said balls into clamped engagement with their respective seating formations.
An auxiliary osteosynthesis device for fastening spaced portions of a fractured bone via two clamping units (1, 2) each of which is adapted for mounted reception of at least two spaced bone-anchoring pins or screws (4, 5), the said clamping units being adjustably spaced and interconnected by a twin ball-joint assembly (3) that can be releasably locked in desired position and by an elongate carrier rod (7, 8) that is associated with each of the respective ball joints, each of said clamping units (1, 2) comprising at least two plates having flat surfaces in face-to-face adjacency and said plates having, for the mounted reception of each bone-anchoring pin or screw, an aligned set of bores (23) transverse to the adjacent plate surfaces, and a single selectively operable means reacting between adjacent plates for incrementally displacing one plate with respect to an adjacent plate for developing misalignment of the bores of each set and thereby developing a clamped engagement of said plates to at least two spaced bone-anchoring pins or screws.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.