Patent ID: 9687279
Date: 2017-06-27
CPC Classifications: A61B,A61F

Claim:
1. A facet joint replacement device, said device comprising: a superior facet joint replacement component configured to replace a natural superior articular facet on a first vertebra of a spine; an inferior facet joint replacement component, said inferior facet joint replacement component comprising a first coupling portion configured to engage a complementary first coupling portion of the superior component to couple the inferior component to the superior component in a predetermined orientation, wherein the first coupling portion of the inferior component comprises a clip having a pair of pins separated from a pair of prongs, wherein the pair of pins are shaped to engage the superior facet joint replacement component and the pair of prongs are shaped to engage the inferior facet joint replacement component, and wherein the pair of pins are cylindrical and have a constant diameter over their entire length and the pair of prongs are configured as flanges, correspond to a gripping feature on the inferior facet joint replacement component, and are separated by a slot substantially centered between the pair of prongs to enable the pair of prongs to independently move with respect to each other.