Vertiflex, Inc.

Neurostructures, Inc.

Exactech, Inc.

Howmedica Osteonics Corporation

Other

Mastros Innovations, LLC

Leland Stanford Junior University

Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation

Centinel Spine, LLC

Vertiscrew, LLC

Joey Reglos

Moti Altarac

Daniel Huan Kim

Yang Cheng

Shawn Tebbe

John Fredrick Stephani

Murali P Kadaba

Stanley Kyle Hayes

J Christopher Flaherty

Michael Davis

Muralidhara Rudhra Raju

Amir Ali Akhavi

Michael Schneier

Babak Barcohana

Brian Stuart Grossman

Dale Lawrence Leibert

Timothy Ray Bumbalough

Zafar D Khan

Robert C Gutierrez

Jean A Harnapp

Alan Goodin

An implantable spacer for placement between adjacent spinous processes in a spinal motion segment is provided. The spacer includes a body defining a longitudinal axis and passageway. A first arm and a second arm are connected to the body. Each arm has a pair of extensions and a saddle defining a U-shaped configuration for seating a spinous process therein. Each arm has a proximal earning surface and is capable of rotation with respect to the body. An actuator assembly is disposed inside the passageway and connected to the body. When advanced, a threaded shaft of the actuator assembly contacts the earning surfaces of arms to rotate them from an undeployed configuration to a deployed configuration. In the deployed configuration, the distracted adjacent spinous processes are seated in the U-shaped portion of the arms.

Interspinous spacer

An implantable spacer for placement between adjacent spinous processes in a spinal motion segment is provided. The spacer includes a body defining a longitudinal axis and passageway. A first arm and a second arm are connected to the body. Each arm has a pair of extensions and a saddle defining a U-shaped configuration for seating a spinous process therein. Each arm has a proximal caming surface and is capable of rotation with respect to the body. An actuator assembly is disposed inside the passageway and connected to the body. When advanced, a threaded shaft of the actuator assembly contacts the caming surfaces of arms to rotate them from an undeployed configuration to a deployed configuration. In the deployed configuration, the distracted adjacent spinous processes are seated in the U-shaped portion of the arms.

An expandable interbody spacer for the spine is provided. The interbody spacer includes a housing, upper and lower endplates, an anterior actuator, a posterior actuator, an anterior drive screw, and a posterior drive screw. The anterior and posterior drive screws are independently or simultaneously rotated with respect to each other by a driver to wedge one or more of the anterior and posterior actuators between the endplates moving them into parallel and/or angular expansion.

Expandable interbody spacer

An expandable interbody spacer for the spine is provided. The spacer includes upper and lower endplates simultaneously movable with respect to a housing along an axis transverse to a longitudinal axis to increase or decrease the height of the spacer selectably along both an anterior side and a posterior side for uniform expansion/contraction of the endplates or only along the anterior side for angular expansion/contraction of the endplates. A spacer deployment instrument is provided that is selectable to effect uniform or angular expansion/contraction. When uniform expansion/contraction is selected a gear on an anterior rod is engaged with a gear on a posterior rod to simultaneously rotate both rods in opposite directions. Opposite threads on actuators of the spacer effect translation of the actuators in the same direction along the longitudinal axis.

An anterior cervical plate system is provided. The cervical plate includes a retention ring with a deflectable flange that is upwardly spaced from the top surface of the ring and configured to prevent an inserted bone fastener from backing out of the plate. The plate includes a locking pin having a camming surface and a blocking surface. When the camming surface is moved into position adjacent to the flange, the flange is free to flex out of the way of a bone screw being inserted into or removed from the plate. When the blocking surface is positioned adjacent to the flange, outward deflection of the flange is prevented to retain the bone screw inside the plate. The locking pin is rotated through a camming surface to bring a blocking surface against the flange deflecting the flange onto the head of the bone screw.

Anterior cervical plate

An expandable interbody spacer for the spine is provided. The interbody spacer includes a housing, a top endplate and a bottom endplate. An actuator is located inside the housing between the top and bottom endplates. A locking screw is configured to drive the actuator and move the endplates between collapsed and expanded configurations. Variations of the expandable spacer are provided in which the endplates move bilaterally outwardly into uniform and parallel expansion along the latitudinal axis, the endplates angulate about a pivot point along a longitudinal axis such that the distal end of the spacer increases in height relative to the proximal end, and the endplates angulate about a pivot along a lateral axis such that the height along one lateral side of the spacer increases in height relative to the other lateral side.

A bone fixation system with variable z-axis translation is provided. The system includes an outer tulip coupled to a bone fastener via a screw retainer. An inner tulip is coupled to the outer tulip such that the inner tulip is longitudinally movably relative to the outer tulip. The inner tulip includes a lock that provides a seat for a connecting rod. The inner tulip together with a seated rod is permitted to translate along the z-axis inside the outer tulip when in an unlocked position. Also in the unlocked position, the bone fastener is free to angulate relative to the outer tulip. The z-axis position of the inner tulip and rod relative to the outer tulip is fixed in a locked position. Also, in the locked position, the bone fastener is locked with respect to the outer tulip. The system may be adjusted between the locked and unlocked positions by way of a set screw.

Bone screw

An anterior cervical plate system is provided. The plate is configured to receive bone screws for attachment to and immobilization of adjacent vertebrae of the spine. The system includes a cup retained inside a through hole of the plate by a cup retainer. A bone screw is retained inside the cup by a lock that is movable between a locked position and an unlocked position. The cup is permitted to angulate forward and backward with respect to the plate and the bone screw is permitted to angulate conically with respect to the cup to provide a plate system with extreme angulation for the bone screw.

An interbody spacer for the spine is provided. The interbody spacer includes a cage and bone screws configured to anchor the cage between two vertebrae of the spine. The cage includes a screw plate configured to mate with the cage in a front-loading fashion. The screw plate is interchangeable with another screw plate configured to receive a different number of bone screws. For example, one screw plate adapted for three bone screws is interchangeable with another screw plate adapted for four bone screws and removably connected to the same cage. The screw plate is connectable intraoperatively or pre-assembled. Each screw plate is also provided with an anti-backout mechanism to retain the bone screws and prevent the bone screws from backing out with respect to the screw plate. The anti-backout mechanism includes a cover plate, locking screw or retaining ring.

Interbody spacer

An interbody spacer for the spine is provided. The interbody spacer includes a cage and at least one bone screw configured to anchor the cage between two vertebrae of the spine. The cage includes a lock rotationally movable with respect to the cage between a locked configuration and an unlocked configuration. When in an unlocked configuration, bone screws may be inserted and removed from the cage. When in a locked configuration, the insertion and removal pathway of the bone screw is blocked by the lock, thereby, providing backout protection for the bone screws. The lock is coupled to the cage by a pronged retainer and includes a camming surface to provide for incremental rotation of the lock. The lock includes a space-saving shape providing for maximum bone screw angulation on a laterally smaller anterior platform.

An implantable spacer for placement between adjacent spinous processes is provided. The spacer includes a body and a wing rotatably connected to the body. The wing includes two U-shaped configurations that together define a substantially H-shaped configuration for retaining the spacer between adjacent spinous processes. An actuator assembly is connected to the body and to the wing with the proximal end of the spacer being connectable to a removable driver that is configured to engage the actuator assembly. While connected to the spacer, the driver is rotatable in one direction to deploy the wing from an undeployed to a deployed configuration and in an opposite direction to undeploy the wing. In the deployed configuration, the spacer acts as a space holder opening up the area of the spinal canal, maintaining foraminal height, reducing stress on the facet joints and relieving pain for the patient.

Growing community of inventors

Lake Forest, CA, United States of America

Joey Reglos