Patent ID: 8292891

Claim:
Apparatus for introducing a bone portal into a bone, the apparatus comprising: a handle, a carrier assembly comprising a driving member, the carrier assembly slidably received within the handle, a tubular shield telescopic within the handle and surrounding the driving member, and a base detachably mounted to a proximal end of the shield; and a release mechanism comprising: a deformable member arranged to block the carrier assembly from moving toward a distal end of the handle, the deformable member deformable to permit the carrier assembly to move toward the distal end of the handle; a bone probe movable relative to the deformable member, wherein the bone probe is biased in a proximal direction away from the distal end of the handle; and another member coupled to the bone probe and engaged with the deformable member, the another member when so engaged preventing the deformable member from deforming such that the deformable member blocks the carrier assembly from moving toward the distal end of the handle; wherein movement of the bone probe disengages the another member from the deformable member sufficiently to permit the deformable member to deform thereby permitting the carrier assembly to move toward the distal end of the handle, wherein the deformable member comprises a split ring captured between the carrier assembly and an opposed abutting surface of the handle, the split ring having a gap between two ends thereof, the another member extends into the gap between the two ends of the split ring, and the bone probe is movable to move the another member out of the gap, wherein the another member comprises a sliding block that is movable out of the gap in a direction toward the distal end of the handle.