Patent ID: 8100945

Claim:
A prosthetic device for insertion in a spinal column, the device comprising: a first member of a relatively flexible material, the first member having a superior end having a first notch formed therein sized to cradle a spinous process of an upper vertebra; a second member of a relatively flexible material, the second member having an inferior end having a second notch formed therein sized to cradle a spinous process of a lower vertebra; a third member of a relatively stiff material and having a greater stiffness than the first member and the second member, the third member being located between the first member and the second member; first protrusion extending outwardly from a first lateral side of the third member and a second protrusion extending outwardly from a second opposite lateral side of the third member, the first and second protrusions configured to provide a rigid connection of the third member to a vertebra located between the upper vertebra and the lower vertebra; wherein a theoretical plane extends through the first, second, and third members, and extends through a first intersection between the first protrusion and the third member a second intersection between the second protrusion and the third member.