Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.

Ethicon, Gmbh

Navneet T Sharma

Jeffrey J Vaitekunas

Narinderjit S Sambi

Robert L Koch, Jr

Mary E Mootoo

Robert F Welch

Steven W Hamblin

Charles A Hansford

John I Izuchukwu

John A Kretchman

Richard R Schweet

John J Mertz

Jeff Kirk

David Wolf

Bone anchors, after insertion into bone, are designed to remain in place and provide a platform for holding tissue. A method of ultrasonically embedding bone anchors into bone without pre-drilling an anchor receiving hole into the bone has been developed. Also described is an improved bone anchor embedding method utilizing ultrasonic energy to reduce insertion force, whereby the bone anchor and embedding device can be formed very small, (e.g. on the order of 2 to 5 millimeters in diameter). In an embodiment of the present invention, a method of bone anchor embedding utilizing ultrasonic energy is used to insert a bone anchor into a pre-drilled hole, wherein the hole in the bone may be smaller in diameter than the diameter of the bone anchor.

Method of ultrasonically embedding bone anchors

Bone anchors, after insertion into bone, are designed to remain in place and provide a platform for holding tissue. An ultrasonic bone anchor is described, comprising a proximal end, a distal end, and a body between the proximal end of the bone anchor and the distal end of the bone anchor. There is an outer surface on the body of the bone anchor which may include at least one protrusion extending from the outer surface of the bone anchor body. A coupling element is located at the proximal end of the bone anchor. The ultrasonic bone anchor is adapted to reciprocate at an ultrasonic frequency with an excursion of 50 to 300 micrometers. An embodiment of the present invention includes an ultrasonic bone anchor wherein the coupling element includes threads formed in a right-hand screw pattern, and the protrusion is formed in a left-hand screw pattern. Alternately the threads may be formed in a left-hand pattern and the protrusion formed in a right-hand pattern.

Ultrasonic bone anchor

An improved surgical stapler which allows for the multi-directional release of staples includes a stapler body and a driver contained therein. A magazine is connected to the stapler body and includes a staple track for carrying a plurality of staples wherein each of the staples has staple legs. An anvil is associated with the staple track for providing a staple forming surface for forming a staple thereon. A feeder element which is spring biased against the staples is used for feeding each staple from the staple track to the anvil. A trigger is operatively connected to the driver and is movable from a pre-fire position to a firing position for advancing the driver against the anvil for forming the staple against the anvil. A kick-off spring is positioned beneath and substantially parallel to the staple track and the anvil. The kick-off spring has a deflectable tip which is deflected away from the anvil and engages the staple legs of the staple by downwardly camming against the staple legs when the trigger is moved from its pre-fire position to its firing position. The kick-off spring ejects the staples off of and away from the anvil by disengaging the staple legs with the deflectable tip by upwardly camming against the staple legs upon returning of the trigger from the firing position to the pre-fire position.

Skin stapler with multi-directional release mechanism

Growing community of inventors

Bridgewater, NJ, United States of America

Navneet T Sharma