Modular bone grinder and snap-in grinder head
AssigneeG&G Technologies, Inc.
InventorsJamie M. Grooms, Kevin Carter, Richard T. Schneider
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The bone grinder of this invention is capable of consistently producing ground bone particles of varying particle sizes, depending on the grinder head employed. The device provides the ability to easily interchange grinder heads according to the needs of a surgeon and the novel grinder head design optimizes the use of available bone stock by cutting the bone rather than crushing the bone.
Claims27
A bone grinder comprising:
- (a) a base plate;
- (b) a vertical wall affixed to said base plate;
- (c) a forwardly projecting housing affixed to said vertical wall;
- (d) a torque means affixed to said vertical wall on a side of said vertical wall opposite said forwardly projecting housing, with a drive shaft extending from said torque means through said vertical wall, said drive shaft having a drive shaft coupling means affixed to the terminus thereof which projects through said vertical wall;
- (e) a chute slidably affixable to said forwardly projecting housing, wherein said chute comprises a front wall, a rear wall, and two side walls, thereby defining a top receiving orifice and a bottom delivery orifice such that bone material may be delivered to the top orifice and delivered from said bottom orifice;
- (f) a grating structure affixed in said chute, said grating having a plurality of recesses;
- and
- (g) a grinder head assembly comprising:
- i. a cutter shaft;
- ii. a cutter shaft coupling means, said cutter shaft coupling means constructed and located on the cutter shaft so as to connect said cutter shaft to said drive shaft coupling means;
- iii. a plurality of cutter teeth or blades arranged in a spaced-apart and discontinuous manner on the exterior of a section of said cutter shaft positioned within said chute;
- wherein said cutter shaft is rotatably affixed within said chute, between said top orifice and said bottom orifice such that said torque means delivers torque through said drive shaft coupling means connected to said cutter shaft coupling means to rotate said cutter shaft, thereby causing said cutter teeth or blades to act on bone material introduced into said top orifice of said chute, and wherein said cutter teeth or blades mesh and pass through said plurality of recesses in said grating structure, thereby reducing the particle size of bone material introduced into said top orifice and made to contact said cutter teeth or blades.
A bone grinder comprising a torque means couplable to one of a plurality of interchangeable bone grinder heads to allow production of finer or coarser bone particles, depending on the bone grinder head used, each said bone grinder head comprising a front wall, a rear wall, and two side walls.
A snap-in unit for a bone grinder comprising a front wall, a rear wall, and two side walls, thereby defining a top receiving orifice and a bottom delivery orifice, said snap-in unit further comprising, interposed between said top orifice and said bottom delivery orifice, a means for grinding bone.
A modular bone grinder comprising:
- (a) a grinder head comprising a cutter shaft, a plurality of spaced-apart and discontinuous cutter teeth or blades and a cutter shaft coupling, said grinder head being easily removed and separately sterilized from the remainder of the grinder and which can be easily reinserted into the bone grinder;
- (b) a torque means comprising a drive shaft and a drive shaft coupling for exerting torque on the coupled cutter shaft when the grinder head is inserted into the bone grinder;
- and
- (c) a receiver cup which can be separately sterilized from the remainder of the elements of the bone grinder;
- wherein said cutter shaft coupling mates with said drive shaft coupling without the need for manual alignment of said couplings and wherein said torque means causes the cutter shaft to rotate and cut bone introduced into the grinder head to form bone particles and wherein said bone particles so produced fall into said receiving cup removably situated below said grinder head.
A method for grinding bone removed from a patient in the course of surgery which comprises:
- (a) removing a portion of the patient's bone to be ground;
- (b) grinding said portion of the patient's bone in a sterile, modular bone grinder comprising a torque means and a bone grinder head that is interchangeable to allow production of ground bone in the form of finer or coarser bone particles, depending on the bone grinder head used,
- wherein each said bone grinder head has a top orifice for adding bone and a bottom orifice for dispensing ground bone;
- and
- (c) collecting the patient's ground bone in a sterile receiver cup situated beneath the bottom orifice of said bone grinder head.
A bone grinder comprising a torque means couplable to one of a plurality of interchangeable bone grinder heads to allow production of finer or coarser bone particles, depending on the bone grinder head used, each said bone grinder head comprising a front wall, a rear wall and two side walls, wherein each said interchangeable bone grinder head further comprises:
- (a) a chute comprising four connected walls defining a top orifice and a bottom orifice such that bone material may be delivered to the top orifice for delivery from the bottom orifice;
- (b) a space below said bottom orifice for accommodating a receiving cup;
- and
- (c) a grinder head assembly positioned between said top and bottom orifices, comprising a cutter shaft, a cutter shaft coupling means so constructed and located on said cutter shaft as to connect said cutter shaft to said torque means, a plurality of cutter teeth or blades arranged in a spaced-apart and discontinuous manner on the exterior of a section of said cutter shaft disposed within said chute, said grinder head assembly being removably affixed within said chute;
- wherein said torque means delivers torque through said cutter shaft coupling means to rotate said cutter shaft, causing said cutter teeth or blades to act on bone material introduced into said top orifice of said chute, whereby said cutter teeth or blades exert a force to reduce the particle size of contacted bone material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.