Patent ID: 8105328

Claim:
A surgical instrument comprising: an elongated interior member extending along a longitudinal axis and defining a chamber for holding a plurality of implants therein, the chamber communicating with at least one pair of positionable implant engaging arms at a distal end of the interior member, the implant engaging arms including an implant gripping portion; an elongated housing member extending along said longitudinal axis and defining an interior passage extending from a proximal end to an opening at a distal end, the interior passage including at least one pair of guides disposed therein; and wherein the elongated interior member is received within the interior passage of the elongated housing member and is moveable therewithin between a plurality of positions including a loading position wherein the guides contact the positionable implant engaging arms to direct the implant engaging arms away from each other as the elongated interior member is moved along the guides in a first direction along said longitudinal axis relative to the elongated housing member to create a pathway for one of the plurality of implants to move from the chamber to the implant gripping portion and a delivery position wherein the implant engaging arms are directed toward each other as the elongated interior member is moved relative to the guides and the elongated housing member in a second direction along said longitudinal axis opposite the first direction to engage the implant with the implant gripping portion.