Spinal rod-to-rod connectors

Inventors

LENGYEL, REBECCA BOERIGTER • Gibbs, Collin • Lubensky, Scott • Daniels, David Wayne

Assignees

Orthopediatrics Corp

Abstract

A polyaxial rod connector comprising a body having an external surface. The connector body is intersected by an imaginary first reference plane and an imaginary second reference plane perpendicular to the first plane. The first body portion is on one side of the first plane and defines a first spinal rod passage defining a first passage axis and a first set screw opening defining a first axis perpendicular to the first passage axis. A second body portion is adjoined to the first body portion, defining a second spinal rod passage defining a plurality of passage axes, and a second set screw opening defining a second axis perpendicular to the plurality of second passage axes. The first passage axis is non-parallel with one of second passage axes in the second plane. Either the first or second spinal rod passage have an hourglass shaped cross-section parallel to the second plane.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to a polyaxial rod connector having a connector body with an external surface, where the connector body is intersected by an imaginary first reference plane and an imaginary second reference plane perpendicular to the imaginary first reference plane. The connector body includes a first body portion on a first side of the imaginary first reference plane and a second body portion on a second side of the imaginary first reference plane, with openings to a first spinal rod passage and a first internally threaded set screw opening, and openings to a second spinal rod passage and a second internally threaded set screw opening.

Polyaxial, non-parallel rod alignment is enabled by defining a non-parallel axis relationship in which the first spinal rod passage axis is non-parallel with at least one of the plurality of second spinal rod passage axes in the imaginary second reference plane. At least one of the first spinal rod passage and the second spinal rod passage comprises a generally hourglass shaped cross section parallel to the imaginary second reference plane, and the passage and set screw geometry is related to the imaginary reference planes so that passage axes and/or set screw axes can be co-planar, parallel, perpendicular, or non-parallel/non-perpendicular in defined reference-plane relationships.

In some embodiments, the connector includes a spinal rod cradle rest having a cradle base in movable contact with an internal surface of a spinal rod passage. The spinal rod cradle rest can define a central cradle axis co-axial with the set screw axis and, in some embodiments, oriented perpendicular to the cradle base to provide an alignment relationship with the internally threaded set screw opening. Additional embodiments include connectors bisected by an imaginary first reference plane and configurations in which one or more passage axes are non-parallel to an imaginary reference plane.

Claims Coverage

The document provides three independent claims. Across these claims, the coverage is centered on a connector body intersected by perpendicular imaginary reference planes, first and second body portions with respective spinal rod passages and internally threaded set screw openings, and geometric relationships that establish non-parallel passage axes together with a generally hourglass shaped cross section.

Overall, the independent claims cover a polyaxial rod connector architecture defined by perpendicular imaginary reference planes, first and second body portions with respective spinal rod passages and internally threaded set screw openings, and non-parallel relationships between passage axes together with a generally hourglass shaped cross section configured either parallel to, or perpendicular to, the relevant reference axis or plane.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications

No documented applications found