Patent ID: 7722674

Claim:
A spinal implant system comprising a pair of linearly, expanding spine cages (LEC) for insertion through cannulas along axes of insertion in a pair of radial grooves cut in the bone of adjacent first and second vertebral bodies and for providing immediate fixation and stabilization thereof, each of the expanding spine cages comprising; a first half cylindrical shell having a radial surface for conformable engagement in the groove cut in the first vertebral body and having an angled surface on each side thereof, a second half cylindrical shell, complementary with respect to the first half cylindrical shell, having a radial surface for conformable engagement in the groove cut in the second vertebral body and having an angled surface on each side thereof, the first and second cylindrical shells being joined in an unexpanded state along a longitudinal axis in common with the axis of insertion, such that the half cylindrical shells define a cylinder with an interior space for holding a quantity of bone growth enhancing agents and the angled surfaces on the first and second half cylindrical shells forming an angled slot, expansion alignment structures at each of the matching ends of the first and second half cylindrical shells to maintain alignment during expansion, and the radius of the cylinder in its unexpanded state is less than the radius of the cannula and substantially equal to the radial groove cut in the vertebral bodies; and expansion means for expanding the first and second cylindrical shells linearly and orthogonally to the axis of insertion while maintaining constant fixation between the radial surfaces and conformably engaged vertebral bodies, the expansion means comprising expansion wedges which slidably fit into the angled slots formed by the angled surfaces of the first and second cylindrical shells.