Tethered restraint of vertebral bodies
Inventors
Gray, Angus James • Tozakoglou, Evangelos • Prygoski, Matthew • Gibbs, Collin
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-12290286-B2
Publication Date
2025-05-06
Expiration Date
Abstract
Methods and devices for the tailored restraint of two separate bones, in which the bones are generally permitted to rotate relative to one another, or move toward each other, but are restrained from separating beyond a predetermined, fixed distance. In some embodiments, the restraint is provided by compressing a tether into a notched groove.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to an apparatus for tethered connection between vertebrae using vertebral body tethering (VBT). The apparatus includes a bone screw having a shaft with threads and a head, and a portion of flexible tether having an uncompressed width, with a tethering restraint member defining a channel between opposing walls that has an open top and a closed bottom.
The closed-bottom region is less wide than the uncompressed width of the tether so the tether is restrained within the channel. The restraint member also defines a through aperture sized to accept the shaft but not the head, allowing shaft passage while preventing head passage through the aperture.
Further refinements include a longitudinal channel with opposing walls that converge toward each other, grooves on the walls with ends positioned relative to the entrance and the bottom of the channel, and a V-shape extending along the member length. In embodiments including a cap, the cap has a threaded body and a driving pocket, and the tethering restraint member includes threads on its wall surfaces to accept the threaded body.
The cap provides a smooth/distal or wedging surface orientation that assists tether compression and restraint, and the narrowed channel region is positioned between the through aperture and the threaded portion. Additional structural relationships describe positioning the region compressing the tether above the head of the screw and optionally containing the head within the tethering restraint member when the screw is within the aperture.
Claims Coverage
The independent claims identified are clm-00001, clm-00009, and clm-00019, covering three main inventive structures centered on tether restraint in a vertebral attachment apparatus.
Open-top channel with narrowed closed-bottom region and shaft-passing through aperture
A bone screw having a shaft with threads and a head; a portion of flexible tether having an uncompressed width; and a tethering restraint member having a channel between opposing walls with an open top and a closed bottom, the bottom including a region less wide than the uncompressed width and configured for restraint of the tether within the channel, the member defining a through aperture sized to accept the shaft but not the head.
Converging opposing walls with end-positioned grooves and vertebral attachment means
A tethering restraint member having a channel between opposing walls extending from an entrance to an exit, the channel having a top and a bottom, opposing walls converging toward each other; each opposing wall including at least one groove of a plurality of respective grooves, each groove having a first end closer to the entrance than its second end, and the second end closer to the bottom than the first end; and means for attaching the tethering restraint member to a vertebra.
Threaded screw and cap with narrowed channel region between through aperture and threaded portion
A bone screw having a shaft with threads and an end with a concave driving feature; a cap having a threaded body; a portion of flexible tether having a width; and a tethering restraint member having a longitudinal channel between opposing walls defining a through aperture sized to accept the shaft, the tethering restraint member including a threaded portion within the channel to accept the threaded body, the channel including a region where the channel width is less than an uncompressed width of the tether, the region being between the through aperture and the threaded portion.
Across the independent claims, the claim coverage centers on a tethering restraint member channel that narrows relative to the uncompressed tether width to restrain the tether, combined with vertebral attachment using a bone screw and, in some embodiments, a cap with a threaded body. Groove geometry and converging opposing walls further define the channel structure, and the through aperture is sized to accept the screw shaft while preventing passage of the screw head in the shaft-through embodiment.
Stated Advantages
Documented Applications
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