Description:
Invention Summary
An apparatus and method of reducing and fixating bone fragments during osteosynthesis (the reduction and internal fixation of a bone fracture with implantable devices). An internal fixation plate has first and second arms forming an acute angle. Attachment locations adapted to secure the plate to the bone are located at distal portions of the arms. A third attachment location is located intermediate to the first and second attachment locations. The plate is used in combination with a tension wire method that uses monocortical screws with stainless-steel wire to reduce and fixate a fracture.
Market Opportunity
The technology is comparatively quick and easy to use because it simultaneously combines reduction and fixation, does not increase the complication rate, and has a low cost. It is an attractive alternative to mandibular internal reduction and fixation for simple and/or unstable fractures.
Features & Benefits
The invention provides an internal fixation plate having both a rigid retainer portion that assists in aligning opposing bone fragments, and a flexible portion that conforms to the cortical surface of the bone to which it is to be fastened without requiring the surgeon to attempt to bend the plate prior to fastening it to the bone.
Intellectual Property Patent No.: 7,235,077 and 7,578,835
Invention Summary
The apparatus include a bone plate for the fixation of a fractured bone having a plurality of fastener openings so that the bone plate may be secured across a reduced fracture. The bone plate is configured to flex in position to conform to the surface of the bone while providing sufficient stiffness in the plane of the device to resist forces and moments in the plane.
Market Opportunity
Available apparatus for fracture fixation have a variety of shortcomings. Bones may have curved or irregular surfaces. The bone plate must be shaped to fit the bone in the region of the fracture prior to attachment. The shaping and fitting process, which generally involves trial and error, is often conducted in the operating theater by the surgeons, and can be time consuming, thereby lengthening the time the patient spends under anesthesia. Sometimes, in order to reduce the patient's time in surgery, the surgeon may shape the bone plate by bending the bone plate to conform to a cadaver specimen prior to conducting the surgical procedure. The hope is that the shape of the bone in the cadaver specimen will approximate the shape of the corresponding fractured bone in the patient, so that only minor adjustments to the shape of the bone plate will be required during surgery and the duration of the surgery will be lessened.
Features & Benefits
The invention gives support to the fracture of a bone plate and has the ability to fixate the range of fractures that may be fixated by a bone plate, while being readily conformable to an irregular or curved bone surface.
Intellectual Property Patent No.: 8,617,221