Bone nail

Details Bone nail Bone nail

1999-01-15

2001-10-16

Reip, David O. (Department: 3731)

Surgery

Instruments

Orthopedic instrumentation

C606S075000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06302885

ABSTRACT:

This application claims a benefit to the German patent application Ser. No. 19801219.5 filed on Jan. 15, 1998.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a bone nail for bone surgery, especially for attachment of membranes, foils, and splints, wherein the bone nail comprises a shaft and a preferably plate-shaped head.
With known bone nails having a shaft with a circular cross-section, driving of the nails is difficult and is usually not made easier even when driving is to be facilitated by preboring the attachment location. Also, preboring the attachment location requires additional time and, furthermore, the shafts have the tendency to bend laterally and often are not capable of securing the nail properly when in its final position. These disadvantages are especially pronounced when these nails are used for securing foils, membranes and similar thin-walled elements used in surgery because such bone nails for such thin-walled elements have a comparably small shaft length which is usually within the millimeter range.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to eliminate these disadvantages or to at least reduce them considerably. Accordingly, the aforementioned nails are to be improved such that a better, faster, and simpler driving action can be achieved and/or, after securing, undesirable loosening or falling out of the nail is to be prevented.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As a solution to this object the nails are provided with a shaft that at least over a portion of its length is provided with one or more projections which are expediently angular, especially provided with sharp edges, and extending in the longitudinal direction of the shaft, but which also may be arranged in rows preferably arranged in the longitudinal direction of the shaft.
These projections surprisingly allow for a relatively simple driving of the nails which can be explained by a cutting effect of the projections. When these projections are arranged individually, they can produce in addition small anchoring locations within the bone in order to prevent loosening of the nail connection. It is advantageous in this context when the projections do not impede or impede only minimally the driving action of the nail, but in the driven state of the nail provide a barb-like effect, for which purpose they are embodied in the form of saw teeth.
On the other hand, it is possible to embody the projections such that they extend as ridges over a portion of the length of the shaft. Accordingly, when selecting the cross-section of the shafts, this can be taken into consideration by providing the shafts within the desired portions with a triangular, square, rectangular, star-shaped or similar design.
An especially advantageous suggestion is to provide the shafts over a portion of their length with ridge-shaped angular projections and over another portion of their length with individual barb-like projections, optionally arranged in rows, whereby preferably the ridges are provided at the free end of the shaft and the barbs are provided in a portion of the shaft adjacent to the head of the bone nail. This design of the shaft provides the aforementioned advantages with respect to driving the nail while in the portion adjacent to the head the means (barbs) are provided to prevent loosening or falling out of the nail.


REFERENCES:
patent: 74501 (1868-02-01), Champlin
patent: 895080 (1908-08-01), Eisenreich
patent: 1100252 (1914-06-01), O'Neill
patent: 1733008 (1929-10-01), Foos
patent: 1978145 (1934-10-01), Rosenberg
patent: 2696817 (1954-12-01), Prevo
patent: 3618447 (1971-11-01), Goins
patent: 4846655 (1989-07-01), Gulley
patent: 4873976 (1989-10-01), Schreiber
patent: 5492452 (1996-02-01), Kirsch et al.
patent: 5562704 (1996-10-01), Tamminmaki et al.
patent: 0 611 557 (1994-08-01), None
patent: 0 714 643 (1996-06-01), None
patent: 2 681 777 (1996-04-01), None
patent: 2 731 610 (1996-09-01), None

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Bone nail does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Bone nail, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Bone nail will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2578514