Patent ID: 8596514

Claim:
An apparatus for holding a shape memory article, the shape memory article comprising a proximal portion and a distal portion and adapted to be implanted into an anatomical feature with the distal portion first, the apparatus comprising: a body extending longitudinally from a proximal end to a distal end, the body having a passage for receiving the proximal portion of the shape memory article, the passage comprising a groove on the body's outer surface that opens transversely to the body, the passage being shaped to substantially prevent the shape memory article from deforming in accordance with its shape memory properties when the proximal portion of the shape memory article is positioned in the passage wherein the body is a unitary body and the passage formed in the unitary body is shaped and sized so that the distal portion of the shape memory article can be implanted into an anatomical feature while the shape memory article is positioned in the passage of the apparatus.