Patent ID: 8066711

Claim:
A method for repairing a fractured bone comprising: gaining access to an inner cavity of the fractured bone; providing a system for use in repairing the fractured bone, the system comprising an internal bone fixation device releasably engaging a delivery catheter, the internal bone fixation device housing a powder component of a bone cement; positioning the internal bone fixation device spanning a fracture in at least two bone segments of the fractured bone; adding a liquid component of the bone cement to the internal bone fixation device by passage through an inner void of the device; inserting a mixing element through the delivery catheter and into the internal bone fixation device, wherein the mixing element comprises a rotatable shaft engaging a spinning mechanism at a distal end, wherein the mixing element comprises a rotatable shaft engaging a spinning mechanism at a distal end; activating the mixing element to mix the powder component and the liquid component of the bone cement within the internal bone fixation device, wherein the internal bone fixation device moves from a first compact state to a second expanded state; removing the mixing element from the device; waiting for the mixed bone cement to cure, wherein the curing of the bone cement results in a hardened internal bone fixation device; and releasing the hardened internal bone fixation device from the delivery catheter.