The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 07, 2003
Filed:
Jun. 11, 2001
Applicant:
Inventors:
Scott A. Nield, Reading, OH (US);
Ronald J. Kolata, Cincinnati, OH (US);
Martin A. Reynolds, Mansfield, MA (US);
Paul G. Ritchie, Loveland, OH (US);
Julianne M. Siegel, Cincinnati, OH (US);
Assignee:
Other;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
A61N 5/067 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
A61N 5/067 ;
Abstract
A method of controllably heating the annulus of an intervertebral disc is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of forming an access channel through the annulus, inserting a light source into the intervertebral disc, activating the light source to emit diffuse light, optically measuring the temperature of tissue near the light source, and modifying the intensity of the light emitted from the source according to the measured temperature.