Intervertebral medical implant

Abstract

The fusion of two vertebrae is one of the most common procedures in spinal surgery. The invention relates to a spinal implant composed of a plurality of parallel plates. The deliberate introduction of contours in the plates allows for the creation of biomechanically advantageous functions and adjustment options that cannot be provided in any other manner or only at a high cost. The elasticity of the anchoring elements enables the disclosed implant to be adjusted to the osseous endplates, resulting in uniform force distribution and thus prevention of the risk of compaction or endplate compression fracture. The plate structure allows for the use of production methods in which hook-like undercut contours can be created, thus enabling the implant to be superbly anchored in the bone without causing damage thereto.; Furthermore, the plates can be interconnected by an actuator in such a way that the height and / or the angular position can be adjusted, thus enabling the intervertebral disk space to be vertically and physically adjusted. The vertical adjustment can vary along the length of the implant such that the segment can also be angularly adjusted. If the plates are interconnected by an eccentric shaft, the combined vertical and translational movement to which the set of plates is subjected can also be used to translationally reposition two vertebrae.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a medical implant inserted into the intervertebral space of two vertebrae to stabilize the spine. An essential feature of the implant according to the invention is that said implant is composed of a plurality of thin plates, allowing further superior properties of manufacture, implantation and in vivo function. Background technique [0002] When a spinal lesion occurs, it is often necessary to stabilize one or more segments of the spine. As a result, there are now a variety of intervertebral implants (also known as "intervertebral cages") on the market, the purpose of which is to create bony fusion of a portion of the spine. The implantation of such intervertebral fusion cages is associated with many complicating factors. Examples include endplate compression fractures due to local stress applied or due to the small area in which the implant is placed, intended bony fusion not being successfully achieved due to stress...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

When bone graft materials are used as implant materials, the low firmness of these materials prevents the manufacture and application of this tooth-like geometry

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