Patent ID: 8915916

Claim:
A method for fixing a bone having a fracture, the method comprising: providing a wire comprising a shape memory alloy that has an austenitic phase structure above a first temperature and a martensitic phase structure below a second temperature, the wire being provided in the martensitic phase structure in a shape including an arcuate portion having a first radius of curvature; and inserting the wire into an intramedullary canal of the bone such that a first end of the wire is positioned on a distal side of the fracture and a second end of the wire is positioned on a proximal side of the fracture, wherein during insertion or after insertion of the wire into the intramedullary canal of the bone, the wire is heated above the first temperature to convert the wire to the austenitic phase structure and transform the arcuate portion of the wire to a second radius of curvature less than the first radius of curvature, and wherein the wire has a chord length from a distal end to a proximal end of the wire, wherein the chord length has a first length when the wire is in the martensitic phase, wherein the chord length has a second length when the wire is in the austenitic phase, and wherein the second length is shorter than the first length, and wherein the first end of the wire terminates in a tip, and wherein the wire is non-segmented from the tip to the second end of the wire.