Intramedullary nail
View Patent ↗The intramedullary nail has a longitudinal axis ( 5 ), a near end ( 1 ) with means ( 8 ) for coupling to an insertion device and a far end ( 2 ) with a tip ( 7 ) for insertion into the intramedullary canal of a long bone. The far end ( 2 ) is provided with at least two traversing through holes ( 3 ) with axes ( 6 ), all of said through holes ( 3 ) being grouped in said far end ( 2 ) within a distance x measured from said tip ( 7 ) to the axis ( 6 ) of the most distant hole ( 3 ). The nail is provided with at least a third through hole ( 3 ) with axis ( 6 ) in said far end ( 2 ) which contains the first and second holes ( 3 ) and the projection of the hole axis ( 6 ) of said through holes ( 3 ) in a plane orthogonal to said longitudinal axis ( 5 ) is such that at least two of said projected hole axis ( 6 ) are at an angle α greater than zero and less than 90° with respect to each other.
1. An intramedullary nail comprising:
a nail body having a longitudinal axis, a proximal end configured and dimensioned for coupling to an insertion device, and a distal end having a tip configured and dimensioned for insertion into the intramedullary canal of a long bone,
at least three transverse holes extending through the distal end of the nail body, each transverse hole defining a hole axis, and all three transverse holes grouped at the distal end within a distance x measured from the tip of the nail body to the axis of the transverse hole furthest from the tip,
wherein a projection of the three hole axes of the at least three transverse holes in a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis is such that at least two of the projected hole axes are at an angle α with respect to one another, where 0<α<90°, and where the distance x≦25d, where d is either the diameter of the largest of the at least three transverse holes or d is the mean diameter of the at least three holes.
2. The nail of claim 1 , where the distance x≦7d.
3. The nail of claim 1 , wherein at least two of the projected hole axes are at an angle α of 58°≦α≦62°.
4. The nail of claim 1 , wherein at least two of the projected hole axes are at an angle α of 59°≦α≦61°.
5. The nail of claim 1 , wherein at least two of the projected hole axes are at an angle α of 43°≦α≦47°.
6. The nail of claim 1 , wherein at least two of the projected hole axes are at an angle α of 44°≦α≦46°.
7. The nail of claim 1 , wherein at least two of the projected hole axes are at an angle α of 35°≦α≦37°.
8. The nail of claim 1 , wherein at least two of the projected hole axes are at an angle α of 35.5°≦α≦36.5°.
9. The nail of claim 1 , wherein at least two of the projected hole axes are at an angle α of 29°≦α≦31°.
10. The nail of claim 1 , wherein at least two of the projected hole axes are at an angle α of 29.5°≦α≦30.5°.
11. The nail of claim 1 , further comprising at least a fourth hole grouped at the distal end of the nail body within the distance x measured from the tip of the nail body to the axis of the transverse hole furthest from the tip.
12. An intramedullary nail comprising:
a nail body having a longitudinal axis, a proximal end configured and dimensioned for coupling to an insertion device, and a distal end having a tip configured and dimensioned for insertion into the intramedullary canal of a long bone,
at least three transverse holes extending through the distal end of the nail body, each transverse hole defining a hole axis, and all three transverse holes grouped at the distal end within a distance x measured from the tip of the nail body to the axis of the transverse hole furthest from the tip,
wherein a projection of the three hole axes of the at least three transverse holes in a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis is such that at least two of the projected hole axes are at an angle α with respect to one another, where 0<α<90°, and where the distance x<2(n)(d), where n is the number of transverse holes grouped within the distance x from the tip of the nail body and d is either the diameter of the largest of the at least three transverse holes or d is the mean diameter of the at least three holes.
13. The intramedullary nail of claim 12 , wherein the distance x<1.8(n)(d).
14. The intramedullary nail of claim 12 , wherein the distance x<1.5(n)(d).
15. The intramedullary nail of claim 12 , wherein the distance x<1.4(n)(d).
16. The intramedullary nail of claim 12 , wherein the distal end of the nail includes at least five transverse holes grouped within the distance x, such that n=5.
17. The intramedullary nail of claim 12 , wherein at least two of the transverse holes at least partially intersect one another.
18. The intramedullary nail of claim 17 , wherein the at least two intersecting transverse holes are spaced at an angle α of 88°-92° with respect to one another.
19. The intramedullary nail of claim 12 , wherein at least one of the transverse holes includes an internal thread.
20. The intramedullary nail of claim 12 , wherein at least one of the transverse holes includes at least a portion with a conical shape.
21. The intramedullary nail of claim 12 , wherein the nail body has a tubular cross-section.
22. The intramedullary nail of claim 12 , wherein the axes of all transverse holes are located in planes orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the nail body.
23. An intramedullary nail comprising:
a nail body having a longitudinal axis, a proximal end configured and dimensioned for coupling to an insertion device, and a distal end having a tip configured and dimensioned for insertion into the intramedullary canal of a long bone,
at least three transverse holes extending through the distal end of the nail body, each transverse hole defining a hole axis, and all three transverse holes grouped at the distal end within a distance x measured from the tip of the nail body to the axis of the transverse hole furthest from the tip,
wherein a projection of the three hole axes of the at least three transverse holes in a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis is such that at least two of the projected hole axes are at an angle α with respect to one another, where 0<α<90°, and where a distance a between the tip and the transverse hole closest to the tip is a≦5 d
where d is the diameter of the transverse hole closest to the tip.
24. The intramedullary nail of claim 23 , wherein the distance a≦1.5 d.
25. The intramedullary nail of claim 23 , wherein a plurality of n transverse holes are located in the nail body, and a center of each hole is located at a distance x from the tip of the nail body, where 1.05 (n)(d)≦x≦3.0 (n)(d).
26. The intramedullary nail of claim 25 , where x<(4(d)+(n−1) (2.2d)).
27. The intramedullary nail of claim 23 , wherein a distance b between the axes of two adjacent transverse holes is b≦1.5 d.