Multi-angular fastening apparatus and method for surgical bone screw/plate systems
DC
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A surgical plate adapted for fixation with a bone screw, comprising first and second opposing major surfaces, an inside surface extending between the first and second major surfaces and defining an aperture generally coaxially disposed about an aperture axis, and a non-rotatable, non-threaded tappable contact region disposed on the inside surface of the aperture, the tappable contact region having an inside diameter large enough to permit a bone screw to pass therethrough at a variable insertion angle defined between the longitudinal axis of the bone screw and the aperture axis, and the tappable contact region is formed so as to allow for being tapped by an external thread of the bone screw to rigidly affix the bone screw to the tappable contact region at a selected one of a plurality of different insertion angles that can be selectively formed between the axis of the bone screw and the aperture axis.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A fastening apparatus includes a fastener and a fastener receiving member. The apparatus enables the fastener to be affixed to the fastener receiving member at a variable insertion angle selected by the user. The fastener includes an elongate section and an adjoining head section. Both the elongate section and the head section are threaded. The fastener receiving member includes one or more apertures through which one or more corresponding fasteners can be inserted. Each aperture includes a contact region formed or disposed on an inside surface defining the aperture. The contact region includes a porous matrix of protrusions or fiber metal having a density and strength sufficient to render contact region tappable by the thread of the head section of the fastener. The thread on the head section is driven into the contact region at the selected insertion angle. As a result, the thread of the head section taps into the material of the contact region such that the fastener is affixed to the fastener receiving member and maintained at the insertion angle.
427 Citations
76 Claims
- 1. A surgical plate adapted for fixation with a bone screw, comprising first and second opposing major surfaces, an inside surface extending between the first and second major surfaces and defining an aperture generally coaxially disposed about an aperture axis, and a non-rotatable, non-threaded tappable contact region disposed on the inside surface of the aperture, the tappable contact region having an inside diameter large enough to permit a bone screw to pass therethrough at a variable insertion angle defined between the longitudinal axis of the bone screw and the aperture axis, and the tappable contact region is formed so as to allow for being tapped by an external thread of the bone screw to rigidly affix the bone screw to the tappable contact region at a selected one of a plurality of different insertion angles that can be selectively formed between the axis of the bone screw and the aperture axis.
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21. A fastening apparatus adapted for multi-angular insertion, comprising:
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(a) a fastener comprising an elongate section and an adjoining head section disposed along a fastener axis, the head section comprising a thread; and (b) a fastener receiving member comprising first and second opposing major surfaces, an inside surface extending between the first and second major surfaces and defining an aperture generally coaxially disposed about an aperture axis, and a non-rotatable tappable contact region disposed on the inside surface of the aperture, the tappable contact region having an inside diameter large enough to permit the elongate section of the fastener to pass therethrough at a variable insertion angle defined between the fastener axis and the aperture axis, and the tappable contact region is formed so as to allow for being tapped by the thread of the head section to rigidly affix the head section to the tappable contact region at a selected one of a plurality of different angles that can be selectively formed between the axis of the fastener and the aperture axis. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method for affixing a fastener to a fastener receiving member at a desired orientation, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a fastener comprising an elongate section and an adjoining head section disposed along a fastener axis, the head section comprising a thread; (b) providing a fastener receiving member comprising first and second opposing major surfaces, an inside surface extending between the first and second major surfaces and defining an aperture generally coaxially disposed about an aperture axis, and a non-rotatable tappable contact region disposed on the inside surface of the aperture, the tappable contact region having an inside diameter large enough to permit the elongate section of the fastener to pass therethrough at a variable insertion angle defined between the fastener axis and the aperture axis, and the contact region is formed so as to allow for being tapped by the thread of the head section to rigidly affix the head section to the tappable contact region at a selected one of a plurality of different angles that can be selectively formed between the axis of the fastener and the apertur axis; (c) selecting one of the plurality of different insertion angles at which the fastener is to be inserted in relation to the fastener receiving member; (d) inserting the elongate section through the aperture until the thread of the head section contacts the non-rotatable tappable contact region; and (e) tapping the fastener into the receiving member such that the fastener is rigidly oriented at the selected insertion angle by threading the thread of the head section into the non-rotatable tappable contact region while the fastener is oriented at the selected insertion angle. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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- 47. A surgical plate adapted for fixation with a bone screw, comprising first and second opposing major surfaces, an inside surface extending between the first and second major surfaces and defining an aperture generally coaxially disposed about an aperture axis, and a non-threaded tappable contact region disposed on the inside surface, wherein the tappable contact region has a minimum inside diameter large enough to permit a bone screw to pass therethrough at an insertion angle defined between a longitudinal axis of the bone screw and the aperture axis, and the tappable contact region is adapted for being tapped by an external thread of the bone screw to affix the bone screw to the tappable contact region at the insertion angle and wherein the tappable contact region comprises a plurality of protrusions extending generally radially inwardly from the inside surface and a plurality of interstices between the protrusions.
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54. A fastening apparatus adapted for multi-angular insertion, comprising:
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(a) a fastener comprising an elongate section and an adjoining head section disposed along a fastener axis, the head section comprising a thread, said fastener comprising a surgical bone screw; and (b) a fastener receiving member comprising first and second opposing major surfaces, an inside surface extending between the first and second major surfaces and defining an aperture generally coaxially disposed about an aperture axis, and a tappable contact region disposed on the inside surface, wherein the tappable contact region has a minimum inside diameter large enough to permit the elongate section to pass therethrough at an insertion angle defined between the fastener axis and the aperture axis, and the tappable contact region is adapted for being tapped by the thread of the head section to affix the head section to the tappable contact region at the insertion angle. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70)
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71. A method for affixing a fastener to a fastener receiving member at a desired orientation, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a fastener comprising a threaded elongate section and an adjoining head section disposed along a fastener axis, the head section comprising a thread; (b) providing a fastener receiving member comprising first and second opposing major surfaces, an inside surface extending between the first and second major surfaces and defining an aperture generally coaxially disposed about an aperture axis, and a tappable contact region disposed on the inside surface; (c) selecting an insertion angle at which the fastener is to be inserted in relation to the fastener receiving member, wherein the insertion angle is defined between the fastener axis and the aperture axis; (d) inserting the elongate section through the aperture until the thread of the head section contacts the tappable contact region; (e) tapping the fastener into the receiving member such that the fastener is oriented at the selected insertion angle by threading the thread of the head section into the tappable contact region while the fastener is oriented at the selected insertion angle; and (f) comprising the step of placing one of the major surfaces of the receiving member against bone material, and inserting the elongate section of the fastener into the bone material by threading the elongate section into the bone material. - View Dependent Claims (72, 73, 74, 75, 76)
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Specification
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Litigation Data
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Current AssigneeUniversity of North Carolina At Chapel Hill (University of North Carolina System)
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Original AssigneeUniversity of North Carolina At Chapel Hill (University of North Carolina System)
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InventorsDahners, Laurence E.
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Primary Examiner(s)Philogene, Pedro
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Application NumberUS10/271,635Publication NumberTime in Patent Office1,099 DaysField of Search606/69, 606/70, 606/71, 606/72, 606/73, 606/60, 606/61, 606/62US Class Current606/287CPC Class CodesA61B 17/8057 the interlocking form compr...A61B 17/8605 Heads, i.e. proximal ends p...A61B 17/863 with thread interrupted or ...
