651 results about "Bone Cortex" patented technology

An innovative bone anchor and methods for securing soft tissue, such as tendons, to bone, which permit a suture attachment that lies entirely beneath the cortical bone surface. Advantageously, the suturing material between the soft tissue and the bone anchor is secured without the need for tying a knot. The suture attachment to the bone anchor involves the looping of a length of suture around a pulley within the bone anchor, tightening the suture and attached soft tissue, and compressing the suture against the bone anchor. The bone anchor may be a tubular body having a lumen with a locking plug that compresses the suture therein. The pulley may be a pin located near a distal end of the tubular body around which the length of suture is looped. Alternatively, a pulley may be a bridge portion of the tubular body between two spaced apertures in the wall of the body. The locking plug may include a shaft and an enlarged head that interferes with the tubular body to provide a positive stop. An actuation rod attached at a frangible section to the shaft may be manipulated by an external handle during locking of the suture within the bone anchor. The bone anchor further may include locking structure for securing itself within a bone cavity.

A system and method for discriminating tissue types, controlling the level of therapy to tissue, and determining the health or a known tissue by measuring the characteristics an electrical signal applied to conductive element located within or by the tissue. Additionally, the system and method may be used for determining whether the conductive tip of a pedicle probe or pedicle screw is located in one of cortical bone, cancellous bone, and cortical bone near a boundary with soft tissue, whether the conductive tip of a cannula is located adjacent to one of nerve tissue and annulus tissue, and whether the conductive tip of a cathode is located adjacent to one of nerve tissue and prostate gland tissue.

A balloon for use in compressing cancellous bone and marrow (also known as medullary bone or trabecular bone). The balloon comprises an inflatable balloon body for insertion into said bone. The body has a shape and size to compress at least a portion of the cancellous bone to form a cavity in the cancellous bone and / or to restore the original position of the outer cortical bone, if fractured or collapsed. The balloon desirably incorporates restraints which inhibit the balloon from applying excessive pressure to various regions of the cortical bone. The wall or walls of the balloon are such that proper inflation of the balloon body is achieved to provide for optimum compression of the bone marrow. The balloon can be inserted quickly into a bone. The balloon can be made to have a suction catheter. The balloon can be used to form and / or enlarge a cavity or passage in a bone, especially in, but not limited to, vertebral bodies. Various additional embodiments facilitate directionally biasing the inflation of the balloon.

An allogenic implant for use in intervertebral fusion is formed from one or more two pieces. The pieces are made from bone, and are joined together to form an implant having sufficient strength and stability to maintain a desired distance between first and second vertebrae in a spinal fusion procedure. The implant pieces may be formed of cortical bone and connected by dovetail joints, and at least one cortical bone pin may be provided to lock the pieces together and to add strength to the implant. Teeth are formed on the vertebra engaging surfaces of the implant prevent short-term slippage of the implant.

An allogenic implant for use in intervertebral fusion is formed from two parts. The first part, composed of cortical bone, provides mechanical strength to the implant, allowing the proper distance between the vertebrae being treated to be maintained. The second part, composed of cancellous bone, is ductile and promotes the growth of new bone between the vertebrae being treated and the implant, thus fusing the vertebrae to the implant and to each other. The implant is sized and shaped to conform to the space between the vertebrae. Teeth formed on the superior and inferior surfaces of the implant prevent short-term slippage of the implant.

An expandable stabilization device is disclosed that is suitable for deployment within cancellous bone, including, for example, within a vertebral body of a spine. The device comprises: an elongate expandable shaft adapted to be positioned within a vertebral body having a first profile and a second profile; wherein the shaft is adapted to cut through cancellous bone within the vertebral body during expansion from the first profile to the second profile; and further wherein the shaft is adapted to abut a surface of cortical bone within the vertebral body without passing therethrough. The invention also includes a method for treating cancellous bone, such as cancellous bone of a vertebral body. The method comprises: delivering an expandable device within the cancellous bone of in an interior of a vertebral body; expanding the delivered device within the cancellous bone of the vertebra body; applying force from a surface of the device to an inner surface of a cancellous bone of the vertebral body sufficient to cut through the cancellous bone; and applying force from a surface of the device to an inner surface of a cortical bone of the vertebral body sufficient to support the vertebral body.

Systems, devices and methods are disclosed for treating fractures. The systems, devices and methods may include one or both of an implant, such as an intramedullary nail, and a fastening assembly, such as a lag screw and compression screw assembly. The implant in some embodiments has a proximal section with a transverse aperture and a cross-section that may be shaped to more accurately conform to the anatomical shape of cortical bone and to provide additional strength and robustness in its lateral portions, preferably without requiring significant additional material. The fastening assembly may be received to slide, in a controlled way, in the transverse aperture of the implant. In some embodiments, the engaging member and the compression device are configured so that the compression device interacts with a portion of the implant and a portion of the engaging member to enable controlled movement between the first and second bone fragments. This configuration is useful for, among other things, compressing a fracture.