US20010041906A1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Apparatus and method for expanding the thorax
Assignee: Gyrus ACMI Inc
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Filing: 2001-07-24
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2021-07-24
Abstract
Abstract A device and method treats pulmonary disease of a patient by expanding the thorax of the patient. Following surgical sternotomy, a separator is implanted in the thorax between the facing sternum surfaces resulting from the surgical sternotomy. The separator has a longitudinal dimension with opposing sidewalls extending along the longitudinal dimension and a width dimension. The facing surfaces of the sternum are engaged with the opposing sidewalls of the separator. Thereafter, the sternum is fixed to the separator for maintaining the sternum in engagement with the opposing sidewalls of the separator and thus maintaining the expanding condition of the thorax.
Inventors
- 👤 Hugo Gonzalez
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 05:16
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B17/00; A61B17/56; A61B17/58; A61B17/68; A61B17/80; A61B17/8061; A61B17/8076; A61B17/84; A61B17/842; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S606/00; Y10S606/902; Y10S606/905
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 29
Claim 1
Independent Claim
31 words
1 . A device for treating pulmonary disease comprising: means for expanding the thorax of a patient to an expanded condition; and means for maintaining the thorax in the expanded condition.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
31 words
1 . A device for treating pulmonary disease comprising: means for expanding the thorax of a patient to an expanded condition; and means for maintaining the thorax in the expanded condition.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
44 words
2 . A device for treating pulmonary disease comprising: a separator implantable within a thorax that expands the thorax to an expanded condition; and at least one fastener that maintains the separator within the thorax and thereby maintains the expanded condition of the thorax.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
44 words
2 . A device for treating pulmonary disease comprising: a separator implantable within a thorax that expands the thorax to an expanded condition; and at least one fastener that maintains the separator within the thorax and thereby maintains the expanded condition of the thorax.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
18 words
3 . The device of claim 2 wherein the separator is implantable within the sternum of the thorax.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
17 words
4 . The device of claim 2 wherein the at least one fastener is a suture wire.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
88 words
5 . An implantable assembly for maintaining a thorax in an expanded condition following surgical sternotomy, the assembly including a separator having opposed sidewalls for engaging facing exposed surfaces of a sternum resulting from the surgical sternotomy, the separator having a longitudinal dimension with the opposed sidewalls extending along the longitudinal dimension, and a width dimension, transverse to the longitudinal dimension, separating the opposed sidewalls of the separator and the facing surfaces of the sternum for increasing the volume of and maintaining the thorax in an expanded condition.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
88 words
5 . An implantable assembly for maintaining a thorax in an expanded condition following surgical sternotomy, the assembly including a separator having opposed sidewalls for engaging facing exposed surfaces of a sternum resulting from the surgical sternotomy, the separator having a longitudinal dimension with the opposed sidewalls extending along the longitudinal dimension, and a width dimension, transverse to the longitudinal dimension, separating the opposed sidewalls of the separator and the facing surfaces of the sternum for increasing the volume of and maintaining the thorax in an expanded condition.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
42 words
6 . The assembly of claim 5 wherein the separator further includes a base having a surface extending from each opposed sidewall for supporting the sternum when the facing surfaces of the sternum are engaged with the opposed sidewalls of the separator.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
33 words
7 . The assembly of claim 6 wherein the opposed sidewalls have a dimension transverse to the surfaces of the base approximately equal to the thickness of the sternum at the facing surfaces.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
16 words
8 . The assembly of claim 5 wherein the separator is formed of a biocompatible material.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
14 words
9 . The assembly of claim 8 wherein the separator is covered with ceramic.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
14 words
10 . The assembly of claim 5 wherein the separator is formed of steel.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
14 words
11 . The assembly of claim 5 wherein the separator is formed of titanium.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
27 words
12 . The assembly of claim 5 further including means for maintaining the facing surfaces of the sternum in engagement with the opposed sidewalls of the separator.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
15 words
13 . The assembly of claim 12 wherein the means for maintaining is suture wire.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
16 words
14 . The assembly of claim 13 wherein the suture wire is formed of stainless steel.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
28 words
15 . The assembly of claim 6 further including suture wires for maintaining the facing surfaces of the sternum in engagement with the opposed sidewalls of the separator.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
28 words
16 . The assembly of claim 15 wherein the base includes a bottom surface including a plurality of grooves for maintaining the suture wires in spaced apart relation.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
35 words
17 . A method of treating a patient having pulmonary disease, the method including the steps of: expanding the thorax of the patient to an expanded condition; and maintaining the thorax in the expanded condition.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
35 words
17 . A method of treating a patient having pulmonary disease, the method including the steps of: expanding the thorax of the patient to an expanded condition; and maintaining the thorax in the expanded condition.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
49 words
18 . A method of treating a patient having pulmonary disease, the method including the steps of: implanting a separator within the thorax of the patient to expand the thorax to an expanded condition; and fastening the separator within the thorax to maintain the expanded condition of the thorax.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
49 words
18 . A method of treating a patient having pulmonary disease, the method including the steps of: implanting a separator within the thorax of the patient to expand the thorax to an expanded condition; and fastening the separator within the thorax to maintain the expanded condition of the thorax.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
21 words
19 . The method of claim 18 wherein the implanting step includes implanting the separator within the sternum of the thorax.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
21 words
20 . The method of claim 18 wherein the fastening step includes fastening the separator within the thorax with suture wire.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
117 words
21 . A method of expanding a thorax and maintaining the thorax in an expanded condition, the method including the steps of: performing a surgical sternotomy on the sternum of the thorax to form exposed facing sternum surfaces along the midline of the sternum; separating the sternum sidewalls; providing a separator having a longitudinal dimension, opposing sidewalls extending along the longitudinal dimension, and a width dimension transverse to the longitudinal dimension; positioning the separator between the exposed sternum surfaces; engaging the exposed surfaces of the sternum with the opposing sidewalls of the separator; and fixing the sternum to the separator for maintaining the facing surfaces of the sternum in engagement with the opposing sidewalls of the separator.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
117 words
21 . A method of expanding a thorax and maintaining the thorax in an expanded condition, the method including the steps of: performing a surgical sternotomy on the sternum of the thorax to form exposed facing sternum surfaces along the midline of the sternum; separating the sternum sidewalls; providing a separator having a longitudinal dimension, opposing sidewalls extending along the longitudinal dimension, and a width dimension transverse to the longitudinal dimension; positioning the separator between the exposed sternum surfaces; engaging the exposed surfaces of the sternum with the opposing sidewalls of the separator; and fixing the sternum to the separator for maintaining the facing surfaces of the sternum in engagement with the opposing sidewalls of the separator.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
21 words
22 . The method of claim 21 wherein the fixing step includes suturing the sternum to the separator with suture wire.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
42 words
23 . The method of claim 21 wherein the separator includes a base extending from the opposing sidewalls and wherein the positioning step includes resting the sternum on the base when engaging the exposed facing sternum surfaces with the separator opposing sidewalls.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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