Patent ID: 6607544
Filing Date: 2003-08-19
Classification: A61B,A61M,Y10S

Abstract:
A device for compacting cancellous bone comprisinga wall made from a flexible material, the wall peripherally defining an interior space and including an expandable region preformed with a normally expanded shape outside bone, the expandable region having proximal and distal ends, the expandable region further having a first expanded section having an interior cross-sectional area adjacent the proximal end, a second expanded section having an interior cross-sectional area adjacent the distal end, and a third section having an interior cross-sectional area located between the first and second expanded sections, the interior cross-sectional area of the third section being less than the interior cross-sectional area of either the first or second expanded sections, and the first expanded section, the second expanded section, and the third expanded section further having, respectively, a first average wall thickness, a second average wall thickness, and a third average wall thickness, and the third average wall thickness being greater than either the first average wall thickness or the second average wall thickness, the expandable region, when expanded beyond its normally expanded shape to reach a given inflation volume, presenting a maximum diameter less than a sphere expanded to an equal inflation volume.