Anchor for attachment to a bony structure

Abstract

Anchor for attachment to a bony structure, comprising a hook, an anchor body with a distal wall facing the hook, and a fastening system for fastening a connection member to the anchor body. A slot is defined between the hook and the distal wall, for receiving a bony structure such as a vertebra portion. The anchor further comprises a retention member having a distal end with teeth, passing through the distal wall and being movable relative to the anchor body, from a retracted position to a protracted position where the distal end protrudes from the distal wall, inside the slot. The proximal end of the retention member defines a seat for the connection member.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application is a continuation application of International Application PCT / EP2013 / 064438, filed Jul. 9, 2013, which claims priority to European Application No. 12305819.0 filed Jul. 9, 2012 the complete disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present disclosure relates to an anchor for attachment to a bony structure, to a stabilization system comprising such an anchor and to a method using it. This anchor may be helpful for holding a bone (e.g. a vertebra) and a connection member (e.g. a rod) in a desired configuration. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a system and method for stabilizing at least two vertebrae.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]One field of application for the invention is holding together a bone and a connection member in a desired relative position (while allowing in some cases a limited amount of relative movement), for example to aid in healin...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013]A push force can be exerted on the proximal end to move the retention member towards the hook (i.e. from its refracted position to its protracted position). As a result, when the anchor is in place on a bony structure and when the retention member is pushed towards the hook, its distal end protrudes inside the slot and engages the bony structure. Such engagement may be obtained by pressing the retention member against the bony structure in order to provide a desired holding force and / or by making the distal end penetrate into the bony structure. Thereby, the hook is better fastened on the bony structure—i.e. the stability of the hook on the bony structure is improved. Moreover, the risk that the hook may disengage from the bony structure is lowered since the retention member provides additional engagement with the bony structure. The attachment to the bony structure is, therefore, more reliable.

[0052]In certain embodiments, the bar is provided with a protrusion forming an abutment. The protrusion is intended to abut on the anchor body when the distal end is positioned in the main passage, thereby impeding movement of the bar relative to the anchor in the bar axis direction. The protrusion thus facilitating the positioning of the distal end relative to the anchor body.

Problems solved by technology

Indeed, the position of the hook on the vertebra is unstable (i.e. the hook may slip out of place) until the rod or other elongate member is positioned and connected to all the anchors.