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US 6,096,081 AGranted
Diaphysial cortical dowel
AssigneeUniversity of Florida Tissue Bank, Inc.
InventorsNicholas E. Grivas, Jamie M. Grooms, Kevin Carter, David Dulebohn
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AssigneeUniversity of Florida Tissue Bank, Inc.
InventorsNicholas E. Grivas, Jamie M. Grooms, Kevin Carter, David Dulebohn
Estimating the term…
A dowel (300) is provided by obtaining a plug from the shaft (diaphysis) of various long bones. The dowel (300) has an intra-medullary canal (30) which can be packed with any of a variety of osteogenic materials. The dowel (300) has a cortical surface (10) into which an instrument attachment hole (15) may be machined and onto which an alignment mark (16) may be inscribed for proper orientation of the intra-medullary canal (30) or a driver slot (56) which may be used to assist in further machining of the bone dowel (300). The dowel (300) ha a chamfered insertion end and has improved biomechanical and vertebral fusion induction properties as compared to standard dowels known in the art. A threaded (31) or grooved (32) dowel (300) and an apparatus (400) for efficient production thereof are also provided.
A cortical dowel, graft or threaded bone dowel (300) which comprises a generally cylindrical dowel characterized in that it comprises cortical bone having a canal through the dowel generally perpendicular to the long axis of the dowel, wherein said canal is defined by the intra-medullary canal of the donor's bone (30).
A method of making a dowel which comprises machining a transverse plug from the diaphysis of a donor's fibula, radius, ulna, humerus, femur or tibia, said plug having a diameter of between about 10 mm and about 24 mm and a depth (length) of between about 8 mm and about 30 mm characterized in that said dowel has, running through it, perpendicular to the long axis of the dowel, the intra-medullary canal (30) of the donor's bone.
The method for fusing vertebrae which comprises making a cavity between the vertebrae to be fused and inserting therein a diaphysial cortical dowel (300) having an intra-medullary canal (30) running through said dowel perpendicular to the long axis of said dowel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.