US 7,740,649 B2Granted

Bone plate system and methods

AssigneePioneer Surgical Technology, Inc.

InventorsLawrence Mosca, Matthew Peter Gephart, Brian Janowski, Brad Fredin, Francis Korhonen, Matthew N. Songer

Life of this patent

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Abstract

Bone plate systems and anchor retainers are provided for use in surgical implants and bone repair. In a preferred form, the bone plate may include bores for receiving the bone anchors, and the bores may permit and define a path of translation or shifting of the bone anchors relative to the bone plate. The anchor retainers may be held in the bores to prevent back-out of the bone anchors. Once the anchor member is seated within the bone plate, the retainer may rest over a top surface of the anchor member so the anchor member is impeded from backing out of the bone plate. The retainer may expand or change shape to permit an anchor member to be driven through the retainer and may contract once an anchor member has been seated within the plate. In addition, a tool for insertion or extraction of the bone anchors is provided.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A device for stabilization of adjacent vertebrae of a spine, the device comprising:

a rigid bone plate having a rigid plate body with an elongate configuration including a longitudinal axis;
a plurality of bone anchor members each having an enlarged head and a shank depending therefrom;
a plurality of aligned bores in the rigid bone plate body extending therethrough with the bores generally aligned along the longitudinal axis and being configured for receiving the bone anchor members therethrough;
at least one upper dynamized bore of the aligned plurality of bores that is elongated along the longitudinal axis with an upper one of the bone anchor members extending therethrough for being driven into an upper vertebra to allow relative longitudinal movement between the upper bone anchor member and the upper dynamized bore with the upper bone anchor member extending through the upper dynamized bore and driven into the upper vertebra;
at least one lower dynamized bore of the aligned plurality of bores that is elongated along the longitudinal axis with a lower one of the bone anchor members extending therethrough for being driven into a lower vertebra to allow relative longitudinal movement between the lower bone anchor member and the lower dynamized bore with the lower bone anchor member extending through the lower dynamized bore and driven into the lower vertebra;
at least one intermediate non-dynamized bore of the plurality of aligned bores that is aligned between the upper and lower elongated bores along the longitudinal axis with an intermediate one of the bone anchor members extending therethrough for being driven into an intermediate vertebra between the upper and lower vertebrae, the intermediate non-dynamized bore being configured to fix the bone anchor member extending therethrough and the intermediate vertebra against longitudinal movement relative to the plate with the elongated upper and lower dynamized bores permitting movement of the associated anchor member extending therethrough and the respective upper and lower vertebrae relative to the plate;
a lower, curved surface of each of the heads of the bone anchor members;
and
a curved seating surface in each of the bores against which the lower, curved surface of the bone anchor members engage with the curved, seating surfaces in the upper and lower dynamized bores having a radius of curvature greater than that of the lower, curved surface of the heads of the bone anchor members to allow for the relative longitudinal movement between the bone anchor members and the upper and lower dynamized bores.

6 more elements

A device for stabilization of adjacent vertebrae of a spine, the device comprising:

a bone plate having a top and a bottom surface, and an elongate configuration including a generally longitudinal axis;
a plurality of bores that extend between the top and bottom surfaces of the bone plate along bore axes that extend generally normal to the top surface of the bone plate;
a plurality of bone anchors each configured for extending through a respective bore, the bone anchors each having a drive head including a top surface thereof and a shank depending from the drive head;
curved engagement surfaces of the bores and the drive heads of the bone anchors that are adapted to engage each other with the bone anchors driven through the bores into the vertebrae therebelow and which are configured to allow for the pivoting of the drive heads in the bores with the curved engagement surfaces engaging each other;
at least one bore of the plurality of bores that is elongated along the longitudinal axis of the bone plate, the elongated bore having a predetermined length that permits the bone anchor extending therethrough to translate along the length of the bore relative to the bone plate;
a resilient retainer for resisting bone anchor back-out positioned within the elongated bore between the top and bottom surfaces of the bone plate, the retainer having a pass-through position wherein the retainer is resiliently deformed so that the bone anchor may be inserted or removed from the elongated bore, and a retention position wherein the retainer partially intersects the elongated bore and is located above the top surface of the bone anchor drive head;
a pair of spaced, straight portions of the retainer extending substantially parallel to each other and the bone plate longitudinal axis along the length of the elongated bore with the bore configured so that the pair of retainer straight portions are completely exposed in the bore in the retention position of the retainer such that no portion of the bone anchor drive head extends above either of the retainer straight portions and no portion of the bone plate overhangs either of the retainer straight portions
a predetermined axial gap spacing between the top surface of the bone anchor drive head and both of the retainer straight portions along the bore axis with the bone anchor shank extending parallel to the bore axis with the axial gap spacing sized to allow for polyaxial driving of the bone anchor transverse to the bore axis into a vertebra with a predetermined amount of pivoting of the bone anchor shank from the bore axis allowed via the curved engagement surfaces of the bore and the drive head of the bone anchor before the bone anchor top surface engages at least one of the retainer straight portions.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/973,891Filed 26 Oct 2004 · us provisional application
Priority: 26 Feb 2004
Published: US 2005/0192577 A11 Sep 2005
Granted: 22 Jun 2010
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification14 codes

A61B 17/8042
Having indirect contact with screw heads, or having contact with screw heads maintained with the aid of additional components, e.g. nuts, wedges…:…
A61B 17/1615
Component parts: drill bits, i.e. rotating tools extending from a handpiece to contact the worked material
A61B 17/1671
For particular parts of the body: for the spine
A61B 17/1728
Guides or aligning means for drills , mills, pins or wires: for holes for bone plates or plate screws