Greatbatch Medical S.a.

Spinelab Ag

Greatbatch Ltd.

Fabrice Chenaux

Patrick Michael White

Eugene Sherry

Sureshan Sivananthan

Patrick Hans Heinrich Warnke

Jean-Sebastien Merette

Reto Braunschweiler

Thomas Zehnder

Patrick Berdoz

Jean-Sebastien Merrette

Andreas Baenziger

Jean Sebastien Merrette

An improved insert for assembly with a bone plate is described. The insert has a first opening adapted to receive a set screw and a second opening adapted to receive a bone screw. The insert is connectable to the bone plate using a set screw. The insert in conjunction with the set screw provides an improved range of relative motion for placing the bone screw at outboard locations with respect to the bone plate. That way, bone fragments that are not necessarily reachable using the bone plate without the insert can be secured together for improved healing.

Polyaxial insert for surgical screws

A torque-limiting driver for orthopedic surgical use is described. The torque-limiting driver has a housing to which a torque force may be applied and transferred to a driver output shaft. The housing encloses a cam bearing assembly having a ball cage disposed so that balls of the ball cage move along a first vector path (Vr) radial to the axis of rotation. The bearing assembly also has an inner race abutting the ball. The inner race travels along a second vector path (F) parallel to the axis of rotation. The first vector path (Vr) and the second vector path (F) are not co-axial. A bearing load assembly applies a bias force (F) to the inner race of the cam bearing assembly to set the calibrated maximum amount of torque that can be transmitted via the housing through the cam bearing assembly to the output shaft of the torque-limiting driver.

Calibrated mechanical orthopedic driver with wear-compensated torque-limiting mechanism

The present invention relates to a bone plate designed to secure locking screws inserted into the plate at various angles. The interior wall surface of the plate apertures include a series of protruding threaded ridges interspaced by relief notches. The threaded ridges and intermediate relief notches of the bone plate in combination with the threaded ridges and intermediate relief notches of the locking screw head allow the locking screw to bypass or 'jump' threads of the bone plate. Thus, the locking screw can be inserted into the bone plate at a first angle and part-way through its advancement along the threads of the bone plate that angle can be changed. The second angle can either be greater than the first with respect to an orientation perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the bone plate, or less than. This gives the physician a great amount of flexibility during a surgical procedure.

Bone plate assembly

A torque-limiting driver () for orthopedic surgical use has a housing () to which a torque force may be applied and transferred to a driver output shaft (). The housing () encloses a cam bearing assembly () having a ball cage () disposed so that balls () of the ball cage () moves along a first vector path (Vr) radial to the axis of rotation (). The bearing assembly also has an inner race () abutting the ball () and which inner race () travels along a second vector path (F) parallel to the axis of rotation (). The first vector path (Vr) and the second vector path (F) are not co-axial. A bearing load assembly () applies a bias force (F) to the inner race () of the cam bearing assembly () to set the calibrated maximum amount of torque that can be transmitted via the housing () through the cam bearing assembly () to output shaft () of the torque-limiting driver ().

Disclosed is a patellar cutting jig for use in a knee joint surgical procedure. The jig grips and holds a patella in situ in spatial reference to the femur to enable the appropriate cut to be made to the patella to accurately accommodate the patello-femoral gap at the replacement knee joint. The patella jig has a referencing component that provides a landmark connection between the patella jig and the femur which enables the patella clamp of the jig to be oriented relative to the reference feature prior to gripping the patella. Thus a patella held in the clamp is fixed in the cutting jig an appropriate orientation relative to the femur prior to its resection. Cutting the patella while it is referenced to the patellar groove on the femur increases the accuracy of the resection.

In situ patellar fixing system

A pedicle screw with a closure device () for securing a rod () for stabilization of the vertebral column comprises a screw-in part (), a head part () provided on the screw-in part (), and a U-shaped recess () disposed in the head part (), which recess is formed by the inner surfaces () of two arms () and a bottom surface () connecting the two inner surfaces. The rod () is insertable into this recess, and is held by the closure device (). The rod () is provided with ridges () and grooves () running transversely with respect to the rod axis (). Likewise provided with corresponding ridges () and grooves () is the bottom surface (). The closure device () comprises a support element (), which is insertable between the two arms (). Disposed in a displaceable way on the support element () are two sliding parts (), which, via a movement mechanism, are able to be brought from a position of being pushed against each other into a position of being pushed apart, in which pushed-apart position the two end regions (), remote from one another, of the two sliding parts () each project into a recess () of the two arms () in the state of the support element () being inserted in the screw. The closure device () is thereby locked with the pedicle screw; the rod () is firmly held in the pedicle screw.

Pedicle screw with a closure device

An acetabular reamer (&#x2033;) is intended in particular for the shaping of the cotyloid cavity in the event of a replacement of a hip joint by total prosthesis. The reamer (&#x2033;) is typically of a truncated hemispherical form and is adapted for attachment to a reamer spindle in order to be driven in rotation about a cutter axis (). The ability to cut a full, continuous hemisphere to the apex () of the hemispherical body () is suppressed, so as to attain the principal advantage of the invention, namely, to adequately prepare the acetabulum for receipt of a prosthesis while minimizing the possibility of breakthrough of the fovea/acetabular fossa. The reamer (&#x2033;) has an interfacetypically made tip of cross bars () which a holder engages for rotationally activating the reamer for cutting.

Growing community of inventors

Exton, PA, United States of America

Fabrice Chenaux