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:
Mar. 30, 2004
Filed:
Oct. 18, 2001
James F. Zucherman, San Francisco, CA (US);
Ken Y. Hsu, San Francisco, CA (US);
Charles J. Winslow, Walnut Creek, CA (US);
John Flynn, Concord, CA (US);
St. Francis Medical Technologies, Inc., Concord, CA (US);
Abstract
Insertion instruments and a main body assembly and a universal wing to be inserted are provided, along with methods of using these instruments for the insertion of the spinal implants in patients to relieve the symptoms of, for example, spinal stenosis, injuries, and degenerative diseases of the spine. The instruments are simply designed and can be disassembled, making cleaning and sterilization easy and convenient. The instruments are designed to engage with and disengage from spinal implants easily, and use of the instrument in spinal implant surgery can be carried out with minimal surgical intervention and does not require general anesthesia. The main body assembly and the universal wing are designed to conveniently be secured to the insertion instruments. In an alternative embodiment the instrument can be nested and at least one instrument can include a handle provided at an angle.