Patent ID: 7172594

Claim:
A bone implant in the form of a screw, nail or post for at least partial insertion into a bone and/or cartilage of a spine of a human or animal comprising a head and a lower portion connected to the head, and an electrical mechanism secured to said screw, nail or post, said electrical mechanism designed to promote healing about said bone implant, said lower portion having an outer surface that is designed to directly engage and at least partially penetrate into the bone and/or cartilage of the spine, said outer surface of said lower portion including a plurality of electrical contacts, said plurality of electrical contacts designed to discharge current in or adjacent to the bone and/or cartilage of the spine to promote healing about said bone implant, said electrical mechanism including a self contained current source and an electronic controller, said electronic controller designed to at least partially control a duration, a time, a degree, a sequence or combinations thereof of current flow from said self contained current source into or adjacent to said bone and/or cartilage of the spine.