Patent ID: 7862596

Claim:
A bone fixation system comprising: at least two headless fixation elements for anchoring in bone; and a bioresorbable plate having an upper surface, a lower surface, and a thickness between about 2 mm and about 6 mm; and a plurality of indentations formed on the upper surface for locating a starting point while also permitting a range of starting angles for any one of the headless fixation elements; the indentations having a diameter at the upper surface, and a full plate thickness surrounding the diameter at the upper surface, and being conically shaped with a conical angle between 30 degrees and 120 degrees; wherein: each headless fixation element is sized to be received within any one of the indentations and configured to penetrate through a remaining portion of the plate defined by a bottom surface of the indentation and the lower surface of the plate, each headless fixation element including an outer thread on a front portion thereof; each headless fixation element having an outer surface configured to contact an inner surface of the indentation after penetration of the headless fixation element through the plate; the bottom surfaces of two or more indentations each have an area of sufficient size to allow the headless fixation elements to be drilled into the plate at angles to the lower surface in directions skewed relative to one another; such that the two headless fixation elements are positioned crosswise into a bone after penetration of the two headless fixation elements through the plate and into the bone; and the plate is completely devoid of any holes which initially penetrate completely through the plate.