Prosthesis (i.e. – artificial body members) – parts thereof – or ai – Implantable prosthesis – Bone
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-17
2004-03-30
O'Connor, Cary E. (Department: 3732)
Prosthesis (i.e., artificial body members), parts thereof, or ai
Implantable prosthesis
Bone
C623S017110
Reexamination Certificate
active
06712853
ABSTRACT:
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices that provide a means to support and/or reinforce and/or stabilize a diseased mammalian spinal intervertebral disc.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is recognized that the spinal disc consists of three parts: first, the nucleus, a central portion that is a compression-resisting cushion; second, the annulus, a peripheral rim portion that is a tension-resisting hoop; and third, the end plate, the superior and inferior borders of the disc, consisting of the up and down borders of the vertebral body bones.
Many studies have concluded that mechanical back pain is the most common and costly musculoskeletal condition affecting middle-aged humans in modem societies. Mechanical back pain may be caused by several factors, but overwhelming evidence suggests that degeneration of the spinal intervertebral disc, such as may be caused by Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) is the most common condition causing back pain symptoms.
The inventor, in a previously published work entitled
The tissue origin of low back pain and sciatica: A report of pain response to tissue stimulation during operations on the lumbar spine using local anesthesia.
(Orthop. Clin. North Amer. 1991; 22(2):181-187.), demonstrated that the diseased disc rim or annulus is the principle pain generator responsible for mechanical back pain.
Many devices have been invented for the purpose of stabilizing and/or replacing parts of the disc in an effort to ease the pain associated with disc disease. Indeed, one of the author's prior inventions, the BAK has been used in more than 80,000 humans, with generally good results (See generally:
the Bagby and Kuslich Method of Lumbar Interbody Fusion. History, Techniques, and
2-
year Follow
-
up Results of a United States Prospective, Multicenter Trial.
Kuslich S. D., Ulstrom C. L., Griffith S. L., Ahem J. W., Dowdle J. D., Spine 1998;23:1267-1279;
Summary of Safety and Effectiveness Of the BAK Interbody Fusion System,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (PMA 950002), PMA Document Mail Center (HFZ-401), Center for Disease and Radiological Health, Washington D.C., Sep. 20, 1996; and
Lumbar Interbody Cage Fusion for Back Pain: an Update on The BAK
(
Bagby and Kuslich
)
System
, Kuslich S. D., Spine: State of the Art Reviews 1999;13(2):295-311). Unfortunately, the BAK and many similarly structured rigid metallic implants suffer from several less than ideal features such as: the need to create fairly large surgical exposures, the need for fairly large entrance holes through the annulus of the disc, and the presence of fairly large volumes of metal that reduce bone graft surface contact at the end plate.
Any device that would more easily, and/or more effectively, and/or more safely treat degenerative disc disease would be useful in the management of hundreds of thousands of suffering individuals.
Previous patents involving intervertebral devices designed to treat DDD fall generally into the following four classes:
The first class includes rigid, three-dimensional geometric solid devices, either impervious or porous, that function as support struts. When placed in the area of the disc between adjacent vertebral bodies, they allow and/or encourage bone to grow through and/or around the device to cause a bony fusion between two adjacent vertebral bodies. Examples of such devices have been described in the following references:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,436 to Schönhöffer
U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,502 to Bagby
U.S. Pat. No. 5,972,031 to Biedermann et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,427 to Kuslich
U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,899 to Schwartz et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,748 to Kuslich
U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,683 to Bagby
U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,291 to Kuslich
U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,909 to Zdeblick
U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,180 to Heggeness et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,235 to Kuslich
U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,308 to Kuslich
U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,307 to Kuslich
U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,391 to Henderson et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,953 to Bagby
U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,193 to Kuslich
U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,255 to Kuslich
U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,247 to Michelson
U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,458 to Harms et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,848 to Bagby
U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,757 to Bantigan
U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,305 both to Harms et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,269 to Bagby
U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,112 to Rezaian
The second class involves the use of semi-rigid artificial joints that allow motion in one or more planes. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,769 to Kostuik, U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,763 to Shelokov, and commercially available examples such as the Link device or Charite Intervertebral Disc Endoprosthesis.
The third class is directed to non-rigid cushions designed to replace the nucleus of the disc. Examples of artificial discs are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,260 to Ray, U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,287 to Ray and U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,326 to Boa.
Finally, the fourth class is the relatively new area of initially flexible, expandable bags or balloons that become rigid when injected with materials that can support loads. Examples include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,571,189 and 5,549,679 to Kuslich, each of which describe expandable, porous balloons or bags, useful in stabilizing a deteriorating spinal disc. In this fourth class, a porous bag or balloon is used which is closed except for a mouth through which bone graft or other graft material is inserted. The bag is placed into a reamed out intervertebral space and is expanded by the introduction of graft material. Recent research and development in the inventor's laboratory established the fact that a thin walled band or hoop, either porous or non-porous, can be placed in the region of the annulus by means of several techniques. Such a band or bands as described in detail below effectively reinforce the annulus and thereby support spinal motion segment strain deflections resulting from stresses applied in all vector directions: rotation, flexion-extension, side bending, compression and distraction. Furthermore, the inventor's experiments show that these radially applied bands or hoops can effectively contain and retain inserted or injected materials that are placed in the central region of a reamed-out disc.
The current invention teaches a technique for building and using a simple band to perform many of the functions of the prior art described above. For instance, if compared to metal cylindrical implants such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,247 to Michelson and metal-walled or plastic-walled rectangular shaped implants such as may be described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,915 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,256 both to Brantigan, the bands of this invention are softer, lighter, more pliable, and without hard sharp edges, thereby offering greater safety during passage next to delicate structures such as the great vessels or the spinal cord. Also, the completely open structure at the Polar Regions adjacent to cancellous bone of the vertebral bodies, would allow for a more intimate fit between inserted graft material and living bone. This intimacy of contact, without any intervening implant material, may reasonably lead to a faster and more complete biological ingrowth through the central portion of the implant.
It is well known that greater surface area contact between graft and living bone is conducive to higher fusion rates and conversely, lower non-union rates. Thus, the current invention provides for several unique advantages over prior art in the field of interbody fusion devices.
In addition to its uses and advantages in the form of improved interbody fusion devices, the attributes of the current invention would provide a new and potentially superior technology in two other categories of treatment for degenerative disc disease: one, soft tissue reinforcement of diseased discs, and two, disc replacement.
In regard to soft tissue reinforcement of diseased discs, several new techniques have recently become available to treat early and mid-stage disc degeneration by methods less invasive and less drastic than
Melson Candice C.
O'Connor Cary E.
Patterson Thuente Skaar & Christensen P.A.
Spineology Inc.
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