A bone fixation assembly may include a male member removably couplable with a female member. The male member may include a male load-sharing feature having at least one male load-sharing surface. The female member may include a female load-sharing feature having at least one female load-sharing surface. The female load-sharing feature may be positioned and shaped to receive the male load-sharing feature therein. In response to a bending load acting on the bone fixation assembly, at least one of the male member and the female member may bend such that, at least a portion of the at least one male load-sharing surface engages with at least a portion of the at least one female load-sharing surface to distribute the bending load between the male member and the female member.

A bone screw, for drawing first and second bone fragments together, includes a shaft having a distal section and a proximal section. The distal section has a first external male screw thread and a minor diameter. The proximal section has a second external male screw thread. A major diameter of the distal section is larger than a major diameter of the proximal section. The bone screw includes a sleeve that has an internal female screw thread configured to mate with the second male screw thread. A distal portion of the sleeve has an outer diameter. The outer diameter is equal to or smaller than the minor diameter of the distal section of the shaft.

Examples of devices and methods for stabilizing a fracture in a bone include a body having an elongate distal portion having an outer surface defining a screw thread and an elongate proximal portion having a non-threaded outer surface.

Devices for treating a bone and methods of inserting such devices into a bone are disclosed. A device for treating a bone may include a flexible tube, a stiffening mechanism and an actuator. The flexible tube has a distal end and a proximal end. The stiffening mechanism within the flexible tube is configured to cause the flexible tube to become rigid. The actuator is configured to cause the stiffening mechanism to cause the flexible tube to become rigid in response to the actuator being actuated.

A bone fixation assembly may include a male member removably couplable with a female member. The male member may include a male load-sharing feature having at least one male load-sharing surface. The female member may include a female load-sharing feature having at least one female load-sharing surface. The female load-sharing feature may be positioned and shaped to receive the male load-sharing feature therein. In response to a bending load acting on the bone fixation assembly, at least one of the male member and the female member may bend such that, at least a portion of the at least one male load-sharing surface engages with at least a portion of the at least one female load-sharing surface to distribute the bending load between the male member and the female member.

This invention relates to a skeletal support member (1) and more specifically, but not exclusively, to a skeletal support member (1) for use in spinal or intramedullary surgery. In accordance with the invention there is provided a skeletal support member (1) comprising an elongate body with integrally formed inner (2) and outer (3) portions, at least one mechanical attribute of the inner portion (2) differing from a corresponding mechanical attribute of the outer portion (3), and the inner portion (2) being shaped and sized such that a corresponding mechanical attribute of the body varies longitudinally. It is envisaged that the invention will provide a skeletal support member (1) which has varying mechanical properties along the length thereof in at least one direction which may be specifically tailored to allow specific movement and apply corrective forces and moments which are bespoke to a patient.

A system and method for targeting a feature on a surgical device, includes a shape sensing element coupled to a surgical device. A guide system having a moveable guide aperture is coupled to the surgical device in communication with the shape sensing element. An interrogator is operable to poll the shape sensing element for information related to the deflection of the targeted feature coupled in communication with a portion of the shape sensing element. A data processor is operable to communicate with the interrogator and provide adjustment information to the user related to the change in shape of the shape sensing element, which is related to a translation of the guide aperture with respect to the first device end such that the guide axis is aligned with the target axis. The shape sensing element may comprise at least one optical fiber, which may comprise a set of Bragg Gratings.

A bone fixation assembly may include an elongate fixation member and a flexible tensioning element. The elongate fixation member may include a central longitudinal axis, a distal portion couplable to a first bone fragment of a bone, and a proximal portion couplable to a second bone fragment of the bone to provide fixation of the second bone fragment relative to the first bone fragment. The flexible tensioning element may be couplable to the proximal and distal portions of the elongate fixation member to secure the elongate fixation member to the bone. The flexible tensioning element may be configured to span a bone fracture intermediate the first bone fragment and the second bone fragment to preload the bone fracture in compression to resist tensile force imparted across the bone fracture, thereby maintaining fixation of the first bone fragment relative to the second bone fragment.

In one embodiment, the present invention is a method of arthrodesis or osteosyntheses of a first bone part and a second bone part, including the steps of positioning a first fixation zone of an implant in the first bone part and a second fixation zone of the implant in the second bone part, both the first and second zones made of shape-memory material and, prior to positioning the bone parts, are in an inner position; and while the first fixation zone is within the first bone part and the second fixation zone is within the second bone part, fixating the respective first and second fixation zones within the respective bone parts through shape-memory action at body temperature.

An intramedullary bone fixation device that includes a shaft with a flexible region. The flexible region may be configured to flex from a first shape to a second shape as the shaft moves along a curved medullary canal. For example, the bone fixation device may include a distal bone screw that is configured to move along the curved medullary canal of first and second segments of a fractured bone (e.g., two segments of a broken rib) and fasten to the segment bone segment. The bone fixation device may include a locking member (e.g., a proximal bone screw) that is configured to lock the shaft to the first bone segment. For example, the shaft may be fixed to the distal bone screw and ratchetably coupled to the shaft such that the first and second bone segments can be compressed together by urging together the distal bone screw and the locking member.