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US 9,956,007 B2Granted
Interspinous spacers and associated methods of use and manufacture
AssigneeHowmedica Osteonics Corp.
InventorsAndy Wonyong Choi, Kim Thien Nguyen, Robert Leslie Richards
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Abstract
Systems, devices, and methods for treating the spine are disclosed herein. Medical devices can be positioned along a subject's spine to treat various conditions and diseases. The medical device can include an actuator assembly and a clamp assembly. The actuator assembly can be positioned at an interspinous space between a superior spinous process and an inferior spinous process. The actuator assembly can be used to reconfigure the clamp assembly such that the clamp assembly clamps onto the superior and inferior spinous processes.
Claims28
A spacer for holding a superior spinous process and an inferior spinous process, the spacer comprising:
- an actuator assembly, having an actuator body, configured to be positioned at an interspinous space between the superior spinous process and the inferior spinous process;
- and
- a clamp assembly including a first wing and a second wing and rotatable relative to the actuator body, wherein the actuator assembly is configured to move the clamp assembly from an open configuration for positioning the superior spinous process and the inferior spinous process between the first wing and the second wing to a clamping configuration for clamping onto the superior spinous process and the inferior spinous process, such that the first wing and the second wing move towards the actuator body when the clamp assembly moves from the open configuration to the clamping configuration,
- wherein each of the first and second wings includes a planar surface extending alongside the superior spinous process and the inferior spinous process and having at least one engagement feature extending therefrom, the at least one engagement feature adapted to engage at least one of the superior or inferior spinous processes when in the clamping configuration, and the planar surfaces have the same orientation relative to one another and to the superior spinous process and inferior spinous process, in both the open configuration and the clamping configuration.
1 more element
A spacer for holding a superior spinous process and an inferior spinous process, the spacer comprising:
- an actuator assembly including,
- an actuator body, configured to be positioned at an interspinous space between the superior spinous process and the inferior spinous process;
- a first guide rotatably coupling a first wing to the actuator body;
- a second guide rotatably coupling a second wing to the actuator body;
- and
- an actuator configured to translate the first guide and the second guide such that the first wing and the second wing move towards the actuator body,
- a clamp assembly including the first wing and the second wing and rotatable relative to the actuator body, wherein the actuator assembly is configured to move the clamp assembly from an open configuration for positioning the superior spinous process and the inferior spinous process between the first wing and the second wing and a clamping configuration for clamping onto the superior spinous process and the inferior spinous process,
- wherein each of the first and second wings includes a planar surface extending alongside the superior spinous process and the inferior spinous process and having at least one engagement feature extending therefrom, the at least one engagement feature adapted to engage at least one of the superior or inferior spinous processes when in the clamping configuration, and the planar surfaces have the same orientation relative to one another and to the superior spinous process and inferior spinous process, in both the open configuration and the clamping configuration,
- wherein at least one of the first wing and the second wing is rotatable about a first axis of rotation defined by the actuator assembly and is configured to translate along the first axis of rotation when the actuator assembly moves the clamp assembly from the open configuration to the clamping configuration.
6 more elements
A spacer for holding a first spinous process and a second spinous process, the spacer comprising:
- a clamp assembly movable from an initial configuration to a rotated configuration and movable from the rotated configuration to a clamping configuration;
- and
- an actuator assembly configured to move the clamp assembly from the rotated configuration to the clamping configuration when at least a portion of the actuator assembly is positioned at an interspinous space between the first spinous process and the second spinous process,
- wherein the clamp assembly includes a first wing and a second wing, the first wing and the second wing each having a longitudinal axis along their respective lengths, the longitudinal axes are parallel to one another in the initial configuration, rotated configuration and clamping configuration, and wherein the actuator assembly is configured to move the first wing and the second wing from the rotated configuration to the clamping configuration such that the first wing and the second wing move toward one another to fixedly clamp onto the first spinous process and the second spinous processes,
- wherein the actuator assembly includes a first guide, a second guide, and an actuator, wherein the first guide is fixed to the first wing and the second guide is fixed to the second wing to allow the first and second wings to move from the initial configuration to the rotated configuration, and the actuator is configured to linearly move the first guide and the second guide relative to one another to move the first and second wings from the rotated configuration to the clamping configuration.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.