Millions of people suffer from back pain. In some instances, in order to relieve back pain and/or to stabilize the spinal structure, adjacent vertebral bodies of a patient's spine are fused. One known method for fusing adjacent vertebral bodies is to implant one or more intervertebral implants into the affected disc space. Surgeons may stabilize the inserted intervertebral implant by securing it to the adjacent vertebral bodies with a plurality of bone screws. However, each of the bone screws is typically fastened at a different angle, which can create a situation of suboptimal surgical exposure.
It would be preferable to develop a stand-alone fusion intervertebral implant that eliminates the use of bone screws, limits surgical exposure and maintains a relatively rigid final construction.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds