Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 26
Claim 1
Independent Claim
95 words
1 . A medical device installation tool, comprising: a housing; a pair of opposed levers, each having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of each lever being moveably coupled to a portion of the housing; and a prosthesis positioning mechanism, at least a portion of which is disposed between the pair of opposed levers, the prosthesis positioning mechanism being selectively configured such that at least a portion of the prosthesis positioning mechanism translates along a longitudinal axis of the installation tool while maintaining a substantially fixed length of the installation tool.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
95 words
1 . A medical device installation tool, comprising: a housing; a pair of opposed levers, each having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of each lever being moveably coupled to a portion of the housing; and a prosthesis positioning mechanism, at least a portion of which is disposed between the pair of opposed levers, the prosthesis positioning mechanism being selectively configured such that at least a portion of the prosthesis positioning mechanism translates along a longitudinal axis of the installation tool while maintaining a substantially fixed length of the installation tool.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
2 . The medical device installation tool of claim 1 , wherein the prosthesis positioning mechanism comprises a shaft at least partially disposed within the housing.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
3 . The medical device installation tool of claim 2 , wherein the shaft comprises a threaded distal end adapted to couple to a prosthesis.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
38 words
4 . The medical device installation tool of claim 2 , further comprising a driver coupled to the shaft, the driver adapted to be configured to linearly move the shaft along the longitudinal axis of the installation tool.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
20 words
5 . The medical device installation tool of claim 4 , wherein the driver is threadably mated to the shaft.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
71 words
6 . The medical device installation tool of claim 5 , wherein the shaft comprises a threaded proximal end and the driver includes a drive shaft having a bore with threads configured to mate with the threaded proximal end of the shaft, the driver being configurable to rotate about the longitudinal axis of the installation tool to cause translational movement of the shaft along the longitudinal axis of the installation tool.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
33 words
7 . The medical device installation tool of claim 2 , wherein the prosthesis positioning mechanism further comprises a pusher block coupled to the shaft and disposed between the pair of opposed levers.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
30 words
8 . The medical device installation tool of claim 7 , wherein the pusher block comprises a connection mechanism that enables the pusher block to couple directly to a prosthesis.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
36 words
9 . The medical device installation tool of claim 7 , wherein the shaft further comprises a threaded distal end extending beyond a distal face of the pusher block and configured to couple with a prosthesis.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
33 words
10 . The medical device installation tool of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the prosthesis positioning mechanism is further configured to selectively rotate about the longitudinal axis of the installation tool.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
26 words
11 . The medical device installation tool of claim 10 , wherein the prosthesis positioning mechanism comprises a shaft at least partially disposed within the housing.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
26 words
12 . The medical device installation tool of claim 11 , comprising a driver effective to selectively control the translation and the rotation of the shaft.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
63 words
13 . The medical device installation tool of claim 12 , further comprising an actuator adapted to be configured between a first position that allows the driver to control translation of the shaft along the longitudinal axis of the installation tool and a second position that allows the driver to control rotation of the shaft about the longitudinal axis of the installation tool.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
39 words
14 . The medical device installation tool of claim 10 , wherein the prosthesis positioning mechanism comprises a shaft at least partially disposed within the housing and having a threaded distal end adapted to be coupled to a prosthesis.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
27 words
15 . The medical device installation tool of claim 1 , wherein the proximal end of each lever is moveably coupled to a portion of the housing.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
41 words
16 . The medical device installation tool of claim 1 , wherein the proximal end of each lever is coupled to a portion of the housing via a coupling mechanism that allows linear translation of each lever relative to the housing.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
104 words
17 . A medical device installation tool, comprising: a housing; a shaft coupled to the housing, the shaft being selectively configured to translate along a longitudinal axis of the installation tool and to rotate about the longitudinal axis of the installation tool as a result of manipulation of a single driver; and a pair of opposed levers, each having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of each lever being pivotably coupled to a portion of the housing such that the distal ends of the levers separate in response to the shaft moving from the proximal end to the distal end.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
104 words
17 . A medical device installation tool, comprising: a housing; a shaft coupled to the housing, the shaft being selectively configured to translate along a longitudinal axis of the installation tool and to rotate about the longitudinal axis of the installation tool as a result of manipulation of a single driver; and a pair of opposed levers, each having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of each lever being pivotably coupled to a portion of the housing such that the distal ends of the levers separate in response to the shaft moving from the proximal end to the distal end.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
63 words
18 . The medical device installation tool of claim 17 , further comprising an actuator adapted to be configured between a first position that allows the driver to control translation of the shaft along the longitudinal axis of the installation tool and a second position that allows the driver to control rotation of the shaft about the longitudinal axis of the installation tool.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
26 words
19 . The medical device installation tool of claim 17 , wherein the shaft comprises a threaded distal end adapted to be coupled to a prosthesis.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
28 words
20 . The medical device installation tool of claim 17 , further comprising a pusher block coupled to the shaft and disposed between the pair of opposed levers.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
48 words
21 . The medical device installation tool of claim 17 , wherein the shaft is selectively configured to translate along a longitudinal axis of the installation tool and to rotate about the longitudinal axis of the installation tool while maintaining a substantially fixed length of the installation tool.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
82 words
22 . A method for implanting a prosthetic device, comprising: disposing portions of opposed, pivotable levers of an installation tool between vertebral bodies; linearly translating a shaft along a longitudinal axis of the installation tool to move a prosthetic device between the opposed levers toward the vertebral bodies while causing distal ends of the opposed levers to separate and distract the vertebral bodies while substantially maintaining a length of the installation tool; and implanting the prosthetic device between the distracted vertebral bodies.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
82 words
22 . A method for implanting a prosthetic device, comprising: disposing portions of opposed, pivotable levers of an installation tool between vertebral bodies; linearly translating a shaft along a longitudinal axis of the installation tool to move a prosthetic device between the opposed levers toward the vertebral bodies while causing distal ends of the opposed levers to separate and distract the vertebral bodies while substantially maintaining a length of the installation tool; and implanting the prosthetic device between the distracted vertebral bodies.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
28 words
23 . The method of claim 22 further comprising rotating the shaft about its longitudinal axis to decouple the shaft of the installation tool from the prosthetic device.