Importance

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Abstract

A locking cap for anchoring an implanted medical device within a bone (such as an intramedullary fixation rod) has a cylindrical, helically threaded body, a socket concentrically disposed in one end, and an interface for cooperating with a driving tool, such as a wrench or screwdriver. Once a device such as an intramedullary fixation rod has been implanted within a bone, the locking cap is implanted by being threaded into the bone with a driving tool, its socket engaging the near end of the device. The socket of the locking cap can be smooth, or it can be threaded so as to thread onto the near end of the device as the cap is threaded into the bone. If threaded, the pitch of the cap's outer threads can exceed the pitch of the inner threads so that the cap advances into the bone more quickly than it advances onto the end of the device. Alternatively, the inner thread pitch can exceed, or equal, the outer thread pitch so that the cap advances into the bone more slowly than, or at the same rate as, it advances onto the end of the device, respectively.

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First Claim