1052 results about "External fixation" patented technology

Methods and devices are disclosed for manipulating the tongue, and more particularly for temporarily suspending the tongue. One embodiment of the device comprises an elongate member with a retractable distal tissue-engaging tip that is movable within the lumen of tubular member configured for insertion into the tongue, preferably from an inferior surface of the jaw. The device may be used diagnostically assess the effect of performing tongue suspension in a patient prior to permanent implantation of a glossopexy device. The retractable distal tissue-engaging tip may be removed after diagnostic assessment, or left in place and attached to a temporary external securing device.

A continent ostomy port device has a face plate defining a selectively sealable aperture which is alignable with the opening of a stoma formed in the body of a user of the device. A closure portion is adapted to permit selective and repeatable covering and uncovering of the aperture in the face plate. A catheter portion extends from one side of the face plate and extends proximally, and one end of the catheter portion is disposed interior of the user's body, within the ostomy site, when the port device is in normal use position. The catheter portion has continuous exterior and interior side walls, the latter defining a major lumen. The catheter portion is sized and shaped appropriately for non-surgical installation through a stoma to a sufficient distance that the presence of the catheter portion within the stoma provides a physical barrier which reduces the incidence of stoma prolapse, without the use of extraneous, externally applied materials or additional surgery. Retaining structure is connected to the catheter of the continent ostomy port and is non-surgically, snugly fittable into the stoma, to cause the port device to be self-retaining in a normal use position within a stoma of the user, without the need for special surgery or extraneous, external fixation materials such as tape, belts, and adhesives. The retaining structure is also usefully connected to other medical catheters.

An external fixation system having an improved fixation component for constructing a stable, adjustable fixation system that cooperates with other systems, and methods of use thereof.

Instruments and methods for spinal stabilization are disclosed. In preferred embodiments, the invention provides greater stabilization of vertebral bodies through methods including combinations of external fixation systems and intervertebral implants to provide greater fusion stability, greater motion segment stability, faster fusion, reduced pain, reduced chance of migration, reduced chance of subsidence, etc.

An adjustable fixation clamp having first and second clamp assemblies positioned about a shaft. The clamp assemblies may each have a pair of vise plates. Each pair of vise plates may define at least two receiving portions and insertion portions intersecting the receiving portions. The receiving portions of one clamp assembly may receive at least two fixation components such as screws, pins or wires. The receiving portions of the other clamp assembly may receive at least one connector such as a rod, bar and / or ring. A biasing structure may be positioned between the first and second clamp assemblies and may allow for the fixation components to be snapped into the receiving portions through the insertion portions. Two or more adjustable fixation clamps may be used to form an external fixation system. At least two screws, pins or wires may be inserted into bone and one of the clamp assemblies may be attached thereto. A guide may be used for insertion of screws, pins or wires into bone. The other clamp assembly may be connected to a rod, bar or ring. Thereafter, the clamp assemblies may be oriented relative to each other and locked in place.

A universal modular external fixation system for immobilizing bone fragments in long bone fractures. The universal modular external fixation system includes a frame assembly comprising a plurality of pins designed to be coupled to various portions of a fractured bone. The external sections of the pins are fixated to a variety of different coupling devices designed to attach to a series of connecting bars along the length of the fractured bone. A plurality of connecting members interconnect the connecting bars thereby securing the pins and thus the bone sections to aid in proper healing of the fracture(s).

Self-locking surgical screw assemblies are described for fastening a medical implant to a bone. The invention also includes combinations of self-locking screws and implants, devices implanted with self-locking screws and related methods which insure the stable attachment of the implant to the bone. Each self-locking surgical screw assembly is comprised of a screw having a non-threaded head affixed to a shank, a threaded portion on the shank, a neck on the shank and a locking device externally affixed to or disposed on the head and / or neck. The locking device lockingly engages the head and / or neck of the screw when the screw is in fastening engagement with the medical implant and the bone.

The invention discloses an orthopaedic universal appliance box which comprises a box body and an upper cover, wherein the upper end of the bottom surface of the box body is uniformly fixed with a plurality of screw take-out device boxes; the left side of the leftmost screw take-out device box is provided with a vertical quick-change straight-handle groove; the left side of the lower end of the bottom surface of the box body is provided with a transverse A-shaped broken-screw take-out embedding groove, and the right side is provided with a transverse T-shaped quick-change handle groove; and the lower side of the A-shaped broken-screw take-out embedding groove and the T-shaped quick-change handle groove is provided with a transverse osteotome groove. The invention solves the problem that the standby tools of orthopaedic surgical appliances are not unified and not convenient to carry, which is common in the clinical work. The overall structure of the orthopaedic universal appliance box is compact. By reasonably putting a set of orthopaedic steel plates and surgical universal appliances of a nail-stick internal fixation system and a bracket external fixation system in the box body, the orthopaedic universal appliance box meets the use requirements during surgery.

By providing components securable to anchor pins or screws of different diameters as well as providing clamps which hold associated pins in any position during adjustments, an external fixation or adjustable frame structure is provided which is capable of being quickly and easily assembled in any desired configuration. In the present invention, the frame structure is retained in any assembled configuration in order to allow final adjustments to be made, prior to the final securement of the frame assembly in the precisely desired configuration by closure of each clamp member. In this way, an entire frame assembly is capable of being constructed, adjusted, and readjusted in order to assure each component is oriented in the precisely desired position prior to final closure of the clamping members. In one preferred embodiment, the clamping members employed in the frame structure of the present invention incorporate friction pins internally mounted in each clamp which engages the rod member once this rod is inserted into the jaws of the clamp. In this way, any rod member inserted into the clamping jaws contacts the surface of the jaws and the friction pin, preventing the rod member from sliding or moving relative to the clamp. In addition, by incorporating a uniquely constructed, moving wedge plate that is adjustably engageable with any cooperating anchor pin, secure affixation of the mounting member with the anchor pins of any diameter is easily achieved, regardless of the orientation configuration, or diameter of the anchor pin.

A continent ostomy port device has a generally planar face plate defining a selectively sealable aperture which is alignable with the opening of a stoma formed in the body of a user of the device. A closure portion is connected to the generally planar face plate adjacent to the aperture and is adapted to permit selective and repeatable covering and uncovering of the aperture in the generally planar face plate. A catheter portion extends from one side of the face plate and extends proximally, and one end of the catheter portion is disposed interior of the user's body, within the ostomy site, when the port device is in normal use position. The catheter portion has continuous and generally cylindrical exterior and interior side walls, the latter defining a major lumen. The catheter portion is sized and shaped appropriately for non-surgical insertion through a stoma to a sufficient distance that the presence of the catheter portion within the stoma provides a physical barrier which reduces the incidence of stoma prolapse, without the use of extraneous, externally applied materials or additional surgery. A removable cartridge is sized and shaped to fit snugly and slideably within the major lumen of the catheter portion of the device so as to be liquid-tight and to thereby prevent inadvertent escape of body waste material from the stoma through the device when the cartridge is in place, so that the user is not required to wear an ostomy bag, and to further thereby clean the interior side wall of the catheter portion as the cartridge is pressed into the major lumen of the catheter. A selectively operable anti-reflux valve that is attached internally of the proximal end of the catheter portion and is activated when it is desired to prevent escape of body waste through the port device, and deactivated when it is desired to permit passage of fluid through the port device. Retaining structure is connected to the catheter, and is non-surgically, snugly fittable into the stoma, to cause the port device to be self-retaining in a normal use position within a stoma of the user, without the need for special surgery and extraneous, external fixation materials such as tape, belts, and adhesives.

An external fixation system comprising: first and second planar at least part-circular ring elements, the first ring element having a circumferential track extending along the part-circular circumference thereof; a plurality of struts each having a first and second end, the first end of each strut coupled to the first ring by a first connector and the second end of each strut coupled to a second ring by a second connector, the first connector including a spherical joint; the second connector non-rotatably coupled to the second ring, the strut second end being coupled to the second connector by a U-joint; shuttles mounted on the track of the first ring for movement there along with one shuttle coupled to each strut; and means for controlling the angular position of each strut second end and means for controlling the position of each shuttle along the circumferential track on the first ring.

A clamp for an external fixation system includes a body having a bottom portion and semi-spherical top portion. The top portion has a threaded bore provided along a longitudinal axis: The clamp includes a clamp assembly having a base with a semi-spherical cavity and a lid positioned over the base to house at least one pin between the base and the lid. The base and the lid have a bore provided along a longitudinal axis thereof. A fastening member is provided that extends through the bore in the base and the lid of the clamp assembly and is secured within the threaded bore of the top portion of the body. The bores in the base and the lid have a diameter that is greater than the diameter of the fastening member.

An external fixation system has clamps, rods and pins having anti-magnetic core parts and a non-conductive sheath part covering essentially the exterior surfaces of the core part. The rods, pins and clamps are especially MRI safe for a patient when used in any frame configuration for fractures of the upper and lower extremities and pelvis wherein the usual MRI field parameters of a static field of 2 Tesla, a time-varying filed of max. 20 Tesla / sec and a specific absorption rate (SAR) of max. 0.4 Watts / kg averaged over the whole body of the patient apply.

The invention relates to a coupling of two sides of a synergetically cooperating fixation system in medical equipment and apparatus, illustrated by way of example of an external fixator with rod-like guide elements, wherein a point-precise and internally tension-free clamping connection is formed by in each case two planar parallel disposed faces. The complementary, uncoated coupling surface is shape-matchingly impressed "de novo" and "uniquely" during each coupling closure by a static press-on force based on a diamond, plastic grain layer of a chaotic profile solidly attached to one of the faces, such that a clamping connection with the multilatent force-form match closure is furnished.

A one-piece clamping element has two opposing clamping jaws forming a laterally open cavity to receive a rod-shaped element. A hinge is located between the jaws, arranged opposite the cavity, and connecting the clamping jaws with one another and thus allowing them to be movable with respect to one another. Each clamping jaw has one bore, aligned flush with one another. One clamping jaw has a receptacle for an anti-rotation device. The receptacle makes it preferable—with the exception of an immediate tightening of the screw in this or another place of an external fixator clamping element used for the same patient—to use the clamping element only once and discarding it after use. Two identical clamping elements, with the possible exception of the size of the rod receptacle, can be placed on top of one another to form an articulation element.

A fixation clamp for use in an external fixation system for holding bone fragments adjacent to each other with the help of fixation elements has at least one clamping assembly having a pair of jaws with at least two different size grooves to accommodate a bone fixation element such as a pin or rod. An alternate clamping assembly has at least three grooves wherein at least two of the grooves have a different size adapted to accommodate a correspondingly sized bone fixation element such as a bone pin. The longitudinal axes of the grooves define a polygon. The jaw pairs can be rotated about a central longitudinal axis to present different size reception cavities towards the pins or rocks depending on their diameter.

The instant invention is a novel method for definitive pelvic stabilization. The method uses the already established principles of anterior external fixation combined with internal hardware placed in a minimally invasive fashion. Pedicle screws are affixed to the ilia and a rigid, bowed fixation rod is connected between the pedicle screws. Preferably the pedicle screws are attached to the supra-acetabular area of each of the ilium of the pelvis and the fixation rod is bowed anteriorly away from the pelvis.

An external fixation system for connecting one or more bone segments together to facilitate healing of bone. The system may include one or more rings and / or ring segments. One or more linear distractors and / or angular distractors may connect the rings to each other so as to allow for distraction and / or reduction / compression of a bone. Linear distractors may enable an operator to move the rings towards and away from each other, while angular distractors may enable an operator to angle the rings relative to each other. In an embodiment using angular distractors, one or more angular separation assemblies may be positioned between the rings. These separation assemblies may have joints which may two portions which may be angled relative to each other and connected directly or indirectly to the rings. Various fasteners (e.g., nuts) and / or tightening members may configured for quick movement along and selective tightening to various components. Moreover, clamps may be attached to the rings and may engage pins, wire, rods, which may be inserted into bone to hold bone segments to each other. The components of the external fixation system may be provided in sets or kits so that the a surgeon may select various combinations of components to create an external fixation system which is configured specifically for the particular needs of a patient and the bone fracture / deformity.

An external fixator system comprising at least two fixation plates which are arranged at a distance to each another, at least one adjustable length having a first end region and a second end region which are in connection with the fixation plates and at least one actuation unit to adjust the length of the strut in order to adjust the distance and / or orientation between the fixation plates. The actuation unit is in a fixed connection with at least one of the fixation plates as well as with at least one of the end regions of the respective strut in order to connect the strut with the fixation plate. The actuation unit comprises a feedback unit which provides the user with a feedback concerning the degree of the actuation.

An external fixation system includes a first base member configured to attach to a first bone segment and a second base member configured to attach to a second bone segment. A plurality of single DOF controlling elements extend between the first and second base members. The single DOF controlling elements include a crank arm having a strut interface and a base member interface, the crank arm having a first longitudinal axis and being pivotably disposed relative to one of the first and second base members. The single DOF controlling elements also include a strut extending from the strut interface toward one of the first and second base members. The strut has a second longitudinal axis, and the crank arm and strut are structurally configured so that the first and second longitudinal axes form a non-zero angle.

A device for electromechanically and / or electro-pneumatically positioning a fractured bone having a first clamping unit adapted for attachment to the bone by at least one first bone fastener, a second clamping unit adapted for attachment to the bone by at least one second bone fastener, and at least one of: (i) a translation component operatively driven by a translational driver for relative translational movement of one clamping unit with respect to the other along a translational axis; (ii) an angulation component operatively driven by an angulational driver for relative angulational movement of one clamping unit with respect to the other along an articulation axis; and (iii) a rotational component operatively driven by a rotational driver for relative rotational movement of one clamping unit with respect to the other along a rotational axis.

A tool for implementing a correction plan in an external fixation frame having a plurality of adjustment elements or screws, for example, generally includes a driver, a motor, a controller, and a processor. The driver is adapted to engage and rotate each of the screws. The motor is coupled the driver and adapted to rotate the driver. The controller is connected to the motor and configured to control operation of the motor. The a processor adapted configured to: receive correction plan data; receive identification data including information for identifying at least one of the plurality of screws; determine movement of at least one of the plurality of the screws based on the correction plan data and the identification data; and send signals indicative of the determined movement to the controller in order to rotate at least one of the plurality of screws according to a predetermined correction plan.

A biopsy device comprises a probe body, a cannula extending distally from the probe body, a cutter moveable relative to the cannula to sever tissue, and a tissue sample holder coupled with the probe body. The tissue sample holder comprises a rotatable member and at least one removable member secured about the exterior of the rotatable member. The at least one removable member defines a plurality of tissue sample compartments. Each tissue sample compartment is configured to receive one or more tissue samples captured by the cutter. In some versions, the at least one removable member comprises a belt and a plurality of vials.

An external fixator for securing a bone through a first bone screw connected to a first portion of the bone and a second bone screw connected to a second portion of the bone. The external fixator includes a first bone screw clamping assembly for receiving the first bone screw and a second bone screw clamping assembly for receiving the second bone screw. The external fixator additionally includes an angular correction module connecting the first and second bone screw clamping assemblies. The angular correction module includes a first element and a second element coupled to allow articulation of the first bone screw clamping assembly relative to the second bone screw clamping assembly about a center of rotation spaced from the module.

An external fixation system for connecting one or more bone segments together to facilitate healing of bone. The system may include one or more rings and / or ring segments. One or more linear distractors and / or angular distractors may connect the rings to each other so as to allow for distraction and / or reduction / compression of a bone. Linear distractors may enable an operator to move the rings towards and away from each other, while angular distractors may enable an operator to angle the rings relative to each other. In an embodiment using angular distractors, one or more angular separation assemblies may be positioned between the rings. These separation assemblies may have joints which may two portions which may be angled relative to each other and connected directly or indirectly to the rings. Various fasteners (e.g., nuts) and / or tightening members may configured for quick movement along and selective tightening to various components. Moreover, clamps may be attached to the rings and may engage pins, wire, rods, which may be inserted into bone to hold bone segments to each other. The components of the external fixation system may be provided in sets or kits so that the a surgeon may select various combinations of components to create an external fixation system which is configured specifically for the particular needs of a patient and the bone fracture / deformity.

An external fixation component includes two capture members adapted to capture independently a first and a second element of an external fixation system. A rotation member is provided between the two capture members, coupled to both capture members such that the coupling allows the two capture members to rotate about three axes relative to each other. Each capture member comprises a central locking screw extending therethrough and defining a longitudinal axis of the associated capture member. The rotation member comprises two rotation blockers, each blocker providing one interface surface adapted to be in contact with a complementary interface surface of one of the capture members, each blocker further provides a surface opposite to the interface surface comprising an inner cylindrical surface. The rotation member comprises a central disc element forming a rolling surface as complementary surface to the inner cylindrical surface of the corresponding rotation blocker. The rotation member comprises two nuts, wherein each nut is associated to one locking screw of a corresponding capture member. Each locking screw of a capture member extends through the corresponding rotation blocker and engages the corresponding nut for an individual locking of each capture member.

A telescopic strut for use with an external fixator includes a tube and a rod, especially a threaded rod being in threaded engagement with the tube. The tube comprises at least one hole for accommodating a ball, the ball having the spherical shape for engagement with the threaded rod. A sleeve is provided on the portion of the tube comprising the hole. The sleeve comprises a non-spherical inner cross-section. The greater diameter of the sleeve has a dimension which is at least the sum of the outer diameter of the threaded rod plus the diameter of an accommodating ball for allowing direct axial movement of the threaded rod against the tube in such a rotational position of the sleeve. The lesser diameter has a dimension to place the ball within the threaded rod for allowing a rotational movement of the threaded rod against the tube.