Patent ID: 11883299
Assignee: BIEDERMANN TECHNOLOGIES GMBH & CO. KG
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A  G  H | IPC A  G  H

Claim 8:
9. A placeholder for implantation in a human or animal body, the placeholder having a first end, a second end, and a longitudinal axis extending through the first and second ends, the placeholder comprising:
an inner surface extending between the first end and the second end and defining an inner cavity that extends along the longitudinal axis, wherein a plurality of diamond-shaped openings are defined by and extend through the inner surface;
an outer surface extending around an outside of the placeholder, wherein a plurality of diamond-shaped openings are defined by and extend through the outer surface;
a plurality of connecting portions that extend between and connect the inner and outer surfaces, the connecting portions at least partially defining a plurality of spaces each extending entirely unobstructed between the inner and outer surfaces from the first end to the second end along respective axes that are parallel to the longitudinal axis; and
at least one projection at the first end that projects axially away from other portions of the placeholder to a free end having at least a region that is positioned away from the inner and outer surfaces in a lateral direction;
wherein a plurality of pathways are formed between respective ones of the openings of the inner surface and corresponding ones of the openings of the outer surface, wherein for each of the pathways, a center of the diamond-shaped opening of the inner surface is aligned with a center of the diamond-shaped opening of the outer surface along an axis that is substantially normal to the inner surface, such that the pathway has a diamond-shaped profile corresponding to the diamond-shaped opening of the inner surface that extends entirely unobstructed from the inner cavity to an outside of the placeholder along the axis that is substantially normal to the inner surface.