Patent ID: 8702757

Claim:
An interspinous process spacer for implantation in an interspinous space between a superior spinous process and an inferior spinous process, the interspinous process spacer comprising: an implant body; a central shaft extending through the implant body, the central shaft having a distal end, a proximal end, and a longitudinal axis extending between the proximal end and the distal end, the central shaft being rotatable, and the central shaft further comprising a proximal worm gear disposed near the proximal end and including proximal threads and a distal worm gear disposed near the distal end and including distal threads, the proximal threads and the distal threads having opposite orientations; a first proximal gear set comprising at least one gear, the first proximal gear set operatively coupled to the central shaft proximate the proximal end; a first distal gear set comprising at least one gear, the first distal gear set operatively coupled to the central shaft proximate the distal end; a first proximal wing operatively coupled to the first proximal gear set wherein the first proximal wing is extendable in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis; and a first distal wing operatively coupled to the first distal gear set wherein the first distal wing is extendable in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, wherein the first distal wing and the first proximal wing withdraw within the bounds of the implant body in the unexpanded configuration, and wherein the first distal wing and the first proximal wing extend beyond the bounds of the implant body in the expanded configuration.