Anti-microbial implant
View Patent ↗Non-load-bearing, drug-eluting components that can be added to load bearing spinal implants.
1. An assembly comprising i) a bone screw comprising a head having a contour and a shaft extending from the head, and ii) a non-load bearing, resorbable bone screw cap loaded with a pharmaceutical compound, wherein the cap fits substantially closely to the contour of the head,
wherein the cap is non-load bearing when attached to the bone screw head in its final position when the assembly is fully implanted onto bone;
wherein the bone screw is a polyaxial pedicle screw.
2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the cap comprises:
a) a cover having a perimeter and a center.
3. The assembly of claim 2 wherein the cap further comprises:
b) a shank extending downward from the cover.
4. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the cover and shank fit substantially closely to an outer contour of the head of the bone screw.
5. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the cover and shank fit substantially closely to an inner contour of the head of the bone screw.
6. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the cap further comprises:
c) means for connecting the cap to the bone screw.
7. The assembly of claim 6 wherein the means comprises a flange.
8. The assembly of claim 7 wherein the flange extends from the shank and engages a recess in the contour of the bone screw.
9. The assembly of claim 7 wherein the flange extends inward from the shank.
10. The assembly of claim 7 wherein the flange extends from the center of the cover and engages a recess in the head of the bone screw.
11. The assembly of claim 6 wherein the means comprises a recess.
12. The assembly of claim 11 wherein the recess extends into the perimeter of the cover and engages a flange in the contour of the bone screw.
13. The assembly of claim 6 wherein the means comprises an adhesive or a curing composition.
14. The assembly of claim 6 wherein the means comprises a snap-on connection.
15. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the cover substantially defines a circle and the shank substantially defines an annulus.
16. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the cover and shank substantially define a hollow hemisphere.
17. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the shank extends downward from the perimeter of the cover.
18. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the shank extends downward from the center of the cover.
19. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the cover and shank are modular.
20. The assembly of claim 1 further comprising an extension.
21. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the pharmaceutical compound is an anti-microbial compound.
22. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the pharmaceutical compound is present as a coating.
23. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the pharmaceutical compound is embedded with the cap.
24. A spinal screw assembly, comprising:
a) a bone screw comprising a head and a shaft extending from the head,
b) a non-load bearing resorbable spinal component comprising a pharmaceutical compound,
wherein the non-load bearing spinal component is attached to the head of the bone screw,
wherein the spinal component is non-load bearing when attached to the bone screw head in its final position when the assembly is fully implanted onto bone;
wherein the bone screw is a polyaxial pedicle screw,
wherein the non-load bearing spinal component is a snap-on type having features that mate with corresponding mating features provided on the pedicle screw.