Granted Patent B1

US 12,648,860 · App. 18/511,696 · Granted Jun 9, 2026

Inventors: Brian Garvey (Raleigh, NC); Deepak Padmanabhan (Durham, NC)

Assignee: RESTOR3D, INC.

A61F2/4606A61F2002/30433A61F2002/3054A61F2002/4627A61F2002/4687

Abstract

Claims (17)

1 . A method of using a surgical guide wire comprising: a distal tip having a tapered or trocar end configured for insertion into a bone;

a distal region adjacent to the distal tip, the distal region configured to be partially inserted into the bone;

a transition region adjacent to the distal region, the transition region including a portion with a smaller diameter than a diameter of the distal region; and

a proximal region adjacent to the transition region,

wherein the transition region provides a reliable sever point or breaking point for the surgical guide wire, the method comprising:

aligning a first surgical instrument relative to a patient anatomy;

inserting the guide wire through the first surgical instrument and into the patient anatomy such that at least a portion of the transition region remains outside of the patient anatomy;

severing or breaking the guide wire at the sever or breaking point, such that a portion of the guide wire remains in the patient anatomy;

removing the first surgical instrument from the patient anatomy; and

positioning a second surgical instrument with respect to the guide wire.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the transition region has a diameter that is less than 75% of a diameter of the distal region.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the transition region is positioned at least ¼-⅓ of a total length of the guide wire away from the distal tip.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the transition region has a tapered profile, with a larger end connected to the distal region and a smaller end connected to the proximal region.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the tapered profile is in an opposite orientation to a profile of the distal tip.

6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the tapered profile is different to a profile of the distal tip.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the transition region has a uniform profile having a smaller diameter than the proximal region or the distal region, and a first connection portion between the transition region and the proximal region has a first tapered profile, and a second connection portion from the transition region to the distal region has a second tapered profile.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the first tapered profile is different than the second tapered profile.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (400)