Method of preparing for an artificial intervertebral implant using tool
This invention relates to tools for preparing vertebral bodies in the spine for the implantation of an artificial vertebral disk replacement and related method. A first tool is disclosed that prepares the vertebral bodies for implantation by cutting offset channels in the vertebral bodies. The second tool holds two plates of the implant during the implantation process. This invention also relates to an artificial vertebral disk replacement, a method of operation, and a method of implanting.
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This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/685,134, filed Oct. 14, 2003 (Attorney Docket No. KLYCD-05009US1), which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/422,011, filed Oct. 29, 2002, entitled “TOOLS FOR IMPLANTING AN ARTIFICIAL VERTEBRAL DISK AND METHOD” (Attorney Docket No. KLYC-01065US2).
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONSThis application is related to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/422,039, filed Oct. 29, 2002, entitled “ARTIFICIAL VERTEBRAL DISK REPLACEMENT IMPLANT WITH TRANSLATING PIVOT POINT AND METHOD” (Attorney Docket No. KLYCD-05007US0), U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/684,669, filed Oct. 14, 2003, entitled “ARTIFICIAL VERTEBRAL DISK REPLACEMENT IMPLANT WITH TRANSLATING PIVOT POINT AND METHOD (Attorney Docket No.: KLYCD-05007US1), U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/422,021, filed Oct. 29, 2002, entitled “ARTIFICIAL VERTEBRAL DISK REPLACEMENT IMPLANT WITH CROSSBAR SPACER AND METHOD” (Attorney Docket No. KLYCD-05008US0), U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/684,668, filed Oct. 14, 2003, entitled “ARTIFICIAL VERTEBRAL DISK REPLACEMENT IMPLANT WITH CROSSBAR SPACER AND METHOD” (Attorney Docket No. KLYCD-05008US1), U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/422,022, filed Oct. 29, 2002, entitled “ARTIFICIAL VERTEBRAL DISK REPLACEMENT IMPLANT WITH A SPACER AND METHOD” (Attorney Docket No. KLYCD-05010US0), and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/685,011, filed Oct. 14, 2003, entitled “ARTIFICIAL VERTEBRAL DISK REPLACEMENT IMPLANT WITH A SPACER AND METHOD” (Attorney Docket No. KLYCD-05010US1), all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to tools for preparing vertebral bodies in the spine for the implantation of an artificial vertebral disk replacement and related method. This invention also relates to an artificial vertebral disk replacement, a method of operation, and a method of implanting.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONAs the present society ages, it is anticipated that there will be an increase in degenerative and dysfunctional spinal disk conditions. Pain associated with such disk conditions can be relieved by medication and/or surgery.
Over the years, a variety of intervertebral implants have been developed in an effort to relieve the pain associated with such degenerative and dysfunctional disk conditions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,349,921 to Kuntz discloses an intervertebral disk prosthesis. The Kuntz prosthesis is designed to restore the space between the disks.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,469 to Kenna discloses a spinal implant that fuses vertebrae to the implant. The implant has a rigid body that fits between the vertebrae with a protuberance extending from a vertebral contacting surface and into the vertebral body.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,258,031 to Salib et al. discloses another prosthetic disk with a ball that fits into a socket.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,425,773 and 5,562,738 are related patents to Boyd et al. that disclose a disk arthroplasty device for replacement of the spinal disk. A ball-and-socket are provided to enable rotation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,534,029 to Shima discloses an articulated vertebral body spacer with a pair of upper and lower joint pieces inserted between the vertebrae. An intermediate layer is provided to allow for movement between the upper joint piece and the lower joint piece.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,832 to Larsen et al. discloses a two-piece ball-and-socket spinal implant with upper and lower plates for insertion within the intervertebral space.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,067 to Bryan et al. discloses a prosthesis having two plates with a nucleus therebetween.
None of these solutions provide an implant that restores a wide range of natural movement.
Accordingly, what is needed is an implant for alleviating such conditions and that restores natural movement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention includes embodiments that are directed to a set of tools used to implant an intervertebral disk replacement, and a method of placing the implant between vertebral bodies of the spine. A first tool is provided for use in preparing the vertebral bodies for the implant. A second tool is provided for installing the implant between the vertebral bodies.
Other aspects, objects, features, and elements of the other embodiments of the invention are described or are evident from the accompanying specification, claims and figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Various modifications to the embodiments described will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the principles defined herein can be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. To the extent necessary to achieve a complete understanding of the invention disclosed, the specification and drawings of all patents, patent publications, and patent applications cited in this application are incorporated herein by reference.
Turning now to
The intervertebral implant 100 also has a pair 132 of second plates 120. The second plates 120 have a first surface 122 and a second surface 124. The first surface 122 is configured to abut an end plate surface of a vertebral body. As with the first plate 110, a keel 126 can be provided on the first surface 122 to anchor the first surface 122 into the vertebral body upon implantation. One or more additional protrusions 128 can also be provided that act as a detent or catch, again providing a further mechanism to prevent the second plate 120 from moving relative to the vertebral body once implanted.
As shown in
Further, although the ball 134 is depicted such that the third end wall 144 is flush with the second end 143, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the ball 134 could also be configured such that the third end wall 144 was recessed relative to the end 143 of the second plate. In such a configuration, the third end wall 144 and the end 143 would not be flush.
As shown in
Either one or both of the keels on the first surface 116 and the second surface 126 can have one or more posteriorly pointing teeth 266 to enable it to more securely engage the vertebral body into which it is implanted. As can be seen in
Turning now to
As will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, implant 100 is predominantly designed for a posterior implantation method. However, implant 100 can also be implanted from an anterior direction. Implant 600 is designed for predominantly an anterior implantation approach.
Further, a combination of the two embodiments shown in
Turning now to
The distal end 702 of the tool 700 is forked to form two prongs or tines 705, 706. The end of each tine 705, 706 has a beveled edge 716 at its distal most end. Each tine 705, 706 also has an inner blade 712 located on an inner upper side and an outer blade 714 located on an outer lower side (shown in
As will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, the tool shown in
Where an implant such as that shown in
A variety of kits can be assembled that include an implant 100 (or 600) sized for a particular patient. The kit could also include several cutting tools 700 and several implanting tools 800 or a single handle that cooperates with cutting ends 702 and implantation ends 820.
In order to implant the implant of
The foregoing description of embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to the practitioner skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention and the various embodiments and with various modifications that are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalence.
Claims
1. A method of implanting an implant between adjacent vertebral bodies comprising the steps of:
- a. simultaneously preparing a first slot in an upper vertebral body and a second slot in a lower vertebral body; and
- b. implanting keels of an implant in the first slot and the second slot.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of preparing further comprises inserting a cutting tool having an upper blade protruding therefrom to form the first slot and a lower blade protruding therefrom to form the second slot.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of preparing further comprises inserting a cutting tool having a pair of tines between the upper and lower vertebral bodies, each tine having a first blade protruding from an inner surface and a second blade protruding from an outer surface.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of preparing further comprises inserting a cutting tool having an upper blade protruding therefrom to form the first slot and a lower blade protruding therefrom to form the second slot, the cutting tool having a beveled leading edge.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of preparing further comprises inserting a cutting tool having an upper blade protruding therefrom to form the first slot and a lower blade protruding therefrom to form the second slot, wherein the cutting tool includes a retractable blade protector configured to expose at least one of the upper and lower blade when inserted between the vertebral bodies.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of preparing further comprises removing the cutting tool from between the upper and lower vertebral bodies to allow the implant to be inserted therebetween.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of implanting further comprises inserting an implantation tool between the vertebral bodies, wherein the implantation tool is adapted to hold the implant, the implantation tool including a curved surface to at least partially contour an outer edge of the implant.
8. A method of implanting an artificial disk between adjacent vertebral bodies comprising the steps of:
- a. distracting an upper vertebral body and a lower vertebral body and simultaneously cutting a first slot in the upper vertebral body and a second slot in the second vertebral body; and
- b. inserting an implant between the upper and lower vertebral bodies, wherein a first keel of the implant is inserted into the first slot and a second keel of the implant is inserted into the second slot.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of distracting further comprises inserting a cutting tool between the upper and lower vertebral bodies, the cutting tool having an upper blade protruding therefrom to form the first slot and a lower blade protruding therefrom to form the second slot.
10. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of distracting further comprises inserting a cutting tool having a pair of tines between the upper and lower vertebral bodies, each tine having an upper blade protruding from an inner surface and a lower blade protruding from an outer surface.
11. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of distracting further comprises inserting a cutting tool having an upper blade protruding therefrom to form the first slot and a lower blade protruding therefrom to form the second slot, the cutting tool having a beveled leading edge.
12. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of distracting further comprises inserting a cutting tool having an upper blade protruding therefrom to form the first slot and a lower blade protruding therefrom to form the second slot, wherein the cutting tool includes a retractable blade protector configured to expose the upper and lower blade when inserted between the vertebral bodies.
13. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of distracting further comprises removing the cutting tool from between the vertebral bodies to allow the implant to be inserted therebetween.
14. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of inserting further comprises inserting an implantation tool between the vertebral bodies, wherein the implantation tool is adapted to hold the implant, the implantation tool including a curved surface to at least partially contour an outer edge of the implant.
15. A method of implanting an artificial disk between adjacent vertebral bodies comprising the steps of:
- a. selecting a cutting tool having an upper blade protruding therefrom and a lower blade protruding therefrom;
- b. inserting the cutting tool between an upper vertebral body and a lower vertebral body, wherein the upper blade forms a first slot in the upper vertebral body and the lower blade forms a second slot in the lower vertebral body; and
- c. inserting an implant between the upper and lower vertebral bodies, wherein a first keel of the implant is inserted into the first slot and a second keel of the implant is inserted into the second slot.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein the cutting tool further comprises a pair of tines, wherein each tine includes the upper blade protruding from an inner surface and the lower blade protruding from an outer surface.
17. The method of claim 15 wherein the cutting tool further comprises a beveled leading edge.
18. The method of claim 15 wherein the cutting tool further comprises a retractable blade protector configured to expose the upper and lower blade when inserted between the upper and lower vertebral bodies.
19. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of removing the cutting tool from between the vertebral bodies to allow the implant to be inserted therebetween.
20. The method of claim 15 wherein the implant is inserted between the vertebral bodies using an implantation tool, the implantation tool adapted to hold the implant along a curved surface, wherein the curved surface at least partially contours an outer edge of the implant.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 25, 2005
Publication Date: Sep 1, 2005
Applicant: St. Francis Medical Technologies, Inc. (Alameda, CA)
Inventors: James Zucherman (San Francisco, CA), Ken Hsu (San Francisco, CA), Charles Winslow (Walnut Creek, CA), Scott Yerby (Montara, CA), Steve Mitchell (Pleasant Hill, CA), John Flynn (Concord, CA)
Application Number: 11/067,214