Patent ID: 8152837

Claim:
A device for stabilizing at least one spinal motion segment comprising a first vertebra having a first spinous process and a second vertebra having a second spinous process, wherein an interspinous space is defined therebetween, the device comprising: a body sized and shaped for positioning within the interspinous space; at least one extension member movably attached to the body, wherein the extension member can be moved from an undeployed position to a deployed position wherein the device has a first profile when the extension member is in the undeployed position and a second profile when the extension member is in the deployed position, wherein the second profile is greater than the first profile; wherein the extension member comprises a first extension member and a second extension member, the first extension member having first and second arms spaced apart from each other and configured to receive a superior spinous process therebetween, and the first extension member being rotatably coupled to the body to rotate superiorly, and the second extension member being configured to receive an inferior spinous process and the second extension member being rotatably coupled to the body to rotate inferiorly, and wherein the first and second extension members are at least substantially parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the body in the undeployed position and transverse to the longitudinal dimension of the body in the deployed position; and wherein the first and second extension members rotate through an arc of about ninety degrees when the first and second extension members move from the undeployed position to the deployed position, and wherein the first extension member further includes a cross-member between the first and second arms configured to contact the superior spinous process in the deployed position.