초록 ▼

An implant for filling and/or distracting a body region, particularly a non-soft tissue cavity, has a plurality of segments wherein at least two of the segments are flexibly connected. The segments have a crush-strength sufficient to create and/or maintain the distraction of two or more non-soft tis

An implant for filling and/or distracting a body region, particularly a non-soft tissue cavity, has a plurality of segments wherein at least two of the segments are flexibly connected. The segments have a crush-strength sufficient to create and/or maintain the distraction of two or more non-soft tissue body surfaces, and to maintain the stability of the body region. The implant may be inserted into a cavity by an applicator having a cannula with a distal opening, and a rotary driver for applying force to move the implant within the cannula.

대표청구항 ▼

I claim: 1. An implant for insertion into a non-soft body region, comprising: a first flexible elongate tube having an inner region; a plurality of segments fixed within the inner region of the first flexible elongate tube, each of said plurality of segments having a compressive strength greater th

I claim: 1. An implant for insertion into a non-soft body region, comprising: a first flexible elongate tube having an inner region; a plurality of segments fixed within the inner region of the first flexible elongate tube, each of said plurality of segments having a compressive strength greater than about 20 Mpa; and a settable fluent material disposed within the inner region of the first flexible elongate tube, wherein the first flexible elongate tube, the plurality of segments, and the settable fluent material are configured to form a stable construct within a non-soft body region. 2. The implant of claim 1, wherein the plurality of segments comprise a linear array. 3. The implant of claim 1, further comprising a flexible outer tube surrounding the first flexible, elongate tube. 4. The implant of claim 1, wherein the settable fluent material comprises activatable cement. 5. The implant of claim 1, wherein the settable fluent material comprises cement that is activated by electromagnetic energy. 6. The implant of claim 1, wherein at least two of the segments are flexibly connected by a filament. 7. The implant of claim 1, wherein the segments are configured to interlock. 8. The implant of claim 1, wherein the first flexible, elongate tube is at least partially porous and configured to pass the settable fluent material from within the first flexible elongate tube. 9. The implant of claim 1, wherein at least some of the segments are held in a substantially fixed location relative to the first elongate flexible tube along an axis of the implant. 10. The implant of claim 1, wherein the first flexible elongate tube has a first dimension located at each of the plurality of segments and a second dimension located between adjacent pairs of the plurality of segments, the first dimension being greater than the second dimension. 11. The implant of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of segments includes a plurality of protrusions that perforate the flexible elongate tube. 12. An implant for insertion into a non-soft body region, comprising: a first flexible elongate tube having an inner region; a second, flexible elongate tube having an inner region, wherein the second flexible elongate tube is at least partly contained within the first flexible elongate tube; a plurality of segments fixed within the inner region of the second flexible elongate tube, each of said plurality of segments having a compressive strength greater than about 20 Mpa; and a settable fluent material disposed within at least one of the first and second flexible elongate tubes, and wherein the first flexible elongate tube, the second flexible elongate tube, the plurality of segments, and the settable fluent material are configured to form a stable construct within a non-soft body region. 13. The implant of claim 12, wherein the first flexible elongate tube is porous. 14. The implant of claim 12, wherein the second flexible elongate tube is porous. 15. The implant of claim 12, wherein the settable fluent material is contained between the first and second flexible elongate tubes. 16. The implant of claim 12, wherein at least some of the segments are held in a substantially fixed location relative to the first elongate flexible tube along an axis of the implant. 17. The implant of claim 12, wherein the first flexible elongate tube has a first dimension located at each of the plurality of segments and a second dimension located between adjacent pairs of the plurality of segments, the first dimension being greater than the second dimension. 18. An implant for insertion into a non-soft body region, comprising: a first flexible elongate tube having an inner region; a plurality of segments fixed within the inner region of the first flexible elongate tube, each of said plurality of segments having a compressive strength greater than about 20 Mpa; a settable fluent material within the inner region of the first flexible elongate tube; and a transmission path configured to transmit electromagnetic energy to harden the fluent material to form a stable construct within a non-soft body region. 19. The implant of claim 18, wherein the passage comprises a filament. 20. The implant of claim 18, wherein at least one of the segments comprises a material configured to transmit light. 21. The implant of claim 18, wherein at least some of the segments are held in a substantially fixed location relative to the first elongate flexible tube along an axis of the implant. 22. The implant of claim 18, wherein the first flexible elongate tube has a first dimension located at each of the plurality of segments and a second dimension located between adjacent pairs of the plurality of segments, the first dimension being greater than the second dimension.