Patent ID: 9545314
Date: 2017-01-17
CPC Classifications: A61F

Claim:
1. An expandable intervertebral implant insertable into an intervertebral disc space, the expandable intervertebral implant comprising: an outer sleeve that defines first and second terminal ends spaced from each other along a longitudinal direction, wherein the outer sleeve includes: an inner core configured to translate in a first direction along the longitudinal direction relative to the outer sleeve so as to cause the implant from the first terminal end to the second terminal end to move from the first position to an expanded position, whereby the outer sleeve defines a second height along the transverse direction from the upper vertebral engagement surface to the lower vertebral engagement surface along the transverse direction, wherein the second height is greater than the first height; and a member that joins the upper sleeve portion to the lower sleeve portion both in the first position and in the expanded position, wherein the upper legs move away from each other in their respective entireties along the lateral direction when the implant moves from the first position to the expanded position, and the lower legs move away from each other in their respective entireties along the lateral direction when the implant moves from the first position to the expanded position, wherein 1) the upper and lower vertebral engagement surfaces are parallel to each other both when the implant is in the first position and the expanded position, and 2) the upper sleeve portion and the lower sleeve portion move away from each other in their respective entireties along the transverse direction when the implant moves from the first position to the second position, and wherein the inner core includes a projection that is configured to mate with a complementary structure of the outer sleeve to fix the implant in the expanded position.