Patent ID: 8147492

Claim:
A system for stabilizing a fractured bone, the system comprising: an implantable device comprising a polymer having a glass transition temperature greater than 37 degrees celsius, wherein the implantable device is deformable at a first thermo-chemical state in which the temperature of the polymer is greater than the glass transition temperature, and hard at a second thermo-chemical state in which the temperature of the polymer is lower than the glass transition temperature, the device, while the polymer is in the first thermo-chemical state, being responsive to a deforming force to deform from a first shape to a second shape, and the device, while the polymer is in the second thermo-chemical state, maintaining the second shape in a relatively rigid configuration to provide reinforcement to the fractured bone sufficient to promote healing of the fractured bone; and a guidewire configured to be removably coupled to the implantable device, the guidewire configured to cooperate with the implantable device to guide placement of the implantable device during an implantation procedure.