Patent ID: 7938836

Claim:
An apparatus with a distal end and a proximal end to deliver a spinal implant assembly to a motion segment, the implant assembly comprising a distal component and a proximal component; the apparatus configured to receive the proximal component and to hold the proximal component on the apparatus by pulling the proximal component towards the proximal end of the apparatus, the apparatus configured to receive the distal component and to hold the distal component on the apparatus by pulling the distal component towards the proximal end of the apparatus, such that the apparatus establishes and maintains a specific relative axial spacing between the distal component and the proximal component; the apparatus configured to simultaneously rotatably drive the distal component and the proximal component into the motion segment and to maintain the specific relative axial spacing between the distal component and the proximal component, and the apparatus having a set of interchangeable elongated polygonal driver components of different lengths can be used to select a particular specific relative axial spacing to be maintained between the distal component and the proximal component.