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:
Sep. 18, 2012
Filed:
Oct. 27, 2008
Michael S. Butler, St. Charles, IL (US);
Kara A. Bucci, Palos Park, IL (US);
Michael S. Butler, St. Charles, IL (US);
Kara A. Bucci, Palos Park, IL (US);
Life Spine, Inc., Hoffman Estates, IL (US);
Abstract
An orthopedic implant such as a spinal implant is made from a elastic biocompatible material (e.g. polyetheretherketone or PEEK) to provide a hinge that allows portions of the orthopedic implant to be folded into a closed position and to inherently deploy into an open position upon release of a folding bias. Hence, the orthopedic implant can accommodate a minimally invasive surgical procedure since the orthopedic implant can be introduced into the disc space in the closed position through a small-diameter insertion tube and then deploy to a particular height once the implant is released from the insertion tube (i.e. from release of the folding bias). The present implant is preferably, but not necessarily, made by injection molded PEEK. In this manner, the implant components are molded in the open position to cause the open position to be its innate position or form, thus allowing the implant to self-deploy (self-expand) when it is released from the folding bias.