GB2418421A

GB2418421A - Holder for surgical fixing elements

Info

Publication number: GB2418421A
Application number: GB0519253A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andreas Ippisch; Hans-Urs Eckerle
Original assignee: Stryker Leibinger GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Stryker Leibinger GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 2004-09-28
Filing date: 2005-09-21
Publication date: 2006-03-29
Anticipated expiration: 2025-09-21
Also published as: GB2418421B; JP2006095311A; GB0519253D0; DE102004046984A1; DE102004046984B4

Abstract

A holder (10) for elongate surgical fixing elements such as bone screws comprises a base member (12), which is designed and dimensioned to be held in one hand. The base member (12) comprises at least one opening (16) for accommodating a fixing element to be held at the ready. To simplify handling of the fixing elements, a measuring scale (18) is provided in the area of the base member (12) for determining the length of the fixing element while so accommodated. The base member (12) comprise at least one transparent or open area (20) for viewing the scale (18) and the fixing element(s) and a sliding lid (14) is provided.

Description

241 842 1 Holder for surgical fixing elements Fileld of the Invention s

The invention relates to a holder for holding surgical fixing elements. In particular, the invention relates to a holder for elongate fixing elements such as bone screws.

Background of the Invention

In the context of surgical operations, there is frequently a need for fixing elements such as bone screws or bone nails. Owing to their frequently small size and other handling-related issues, holders have been developed for such fixing elements. In many cases, the surgeon may then take a selected fixing element directly from the holder by means of a suitable tool (for example by means of a screwdriver with grip ping mechanism) and insert it at the desired point within the area being operated on.

Conventional holders for surgical purposes are as a rule incorporated into surgical trays, racks or carts, which makes handling of the holders more difficult.

to An easy-to-handle holder for bone screws is known from WO 00/07510. The holder comprises a base member with receptacles in which bone screws are accommodated.

The base member has handy dimensions and may therefore be held manually by the surgeon during a surgical operation. ë a e

Is The object underlying the invention is to provide a holder for elongate surgical fixing elements which exhibits improved functionality. - t..

Summary of the Invention : car

306 This object is achieved by a holder for holding elongate surgical fixing elements such as bone screws, comprising a base member, which is designed and dimensioned to - 2 be held in one hand, wherein the base member comprises at least one opening for accommodating a fixing element to be held at the ready in an upright position and wherein a measuring scale is provided in the area of the base member for determin ing the length of the accommodated fixing element.

The surgeon therefore no longer has to take a fixing element held ready in the holder from the holder and use a separate measuring means to determine the length of the surgical fixing element. Instead, using the holder according to the invention the surgeon may establish the length of a fixing element directly while the element is to accommodated and held ready in said holder.

The base member is appropriately constructed in such a way as to hold the at least one elongate fixing element in an upright position. Holding it thus simplifies removal of the fixing element by means of a suitable pickup tool (e.g. a screwdriver with a gripping mechanism for the fixing element). The surgeon may accordingly position a fixing element taken from the holder by means of the pick-up tool directly at the de sired point in or on the body of a patient.

The base member may comprise at least one transparent or open area which offers a to view of both the measuring scale and the accommodated fixing element. The base member may also be made wholly of a transparent material, preferably plastics.

A. According to a first variant, the measuring scale is provided on or in the transparent A. area of the base member. According to a further variant, the measuring scale is ar ...

as ranged on or in an area opposite the transparent or open area relative to the fixing ...

element to be accommodated. ...

: The fixing element may be held in a hanging or standing position. For example, the .

at least one opening for accommodating the fixing element to be held may permit so hanging accommodation of the fixing element. To this end, the opening may have a limit stop for cooperation with a widening of the diameter (e.g. a head) of the fixing - 3 element to be accommodated. This limit stop may correspond with a reference point such as the zero point on the measuring scale.

To simplify handling of the base member, the latter may be ergonomically shaped. It iS thus feasible for the base member substantially to take the form of a block or box and the walls of the base member to be ergonomically profiled. In particular, the base member may be designed to be held between the fingers.

The fixing elements may be accommodated loosely or captively in the base member.

to For captive accommodation, a slight interference fit may be provided between a por tion such as a head of the fixing element and an area of the base member cooperat lng therewith.

According to a variant of the invention, a cover (e.g. a hinged lid or a sliding lid) is Is provided to close the base member with regard to the fixing elements accommo dated therein. The cover may be steam-permeable or permeable with respect to an other sterilising medium. This simplifies sterilization of the holder (and optionally of the fixing elements accommodated therein?. To achieve steam permeability, open ings may be formed in the cover.

The base member may have one or more openings, which allow a sterilizing medium to reach the fixing elements held ready therein. Preferably, the opening extends in the form of a chamber within the base member accommodating the elongate por .

tions of the fixing elements. A. .e

. Should it be desirable to hold a plurality of fixing elements in the base member, the base member may comprise one or more rows of openings for accommodating the : fixing elements. Preferably, the base member is designed to accommodate ë.e approximately four to sixteen bone screws. The measuring scale may be arranged in so such a way that it extends substantially perpendicularly to the at least one row of openings. Thus, the measuring scale may be provided in the area of a narrow end - 4 Thus, the measuring scale may be provided in the area of a narrow end face of the base member.

The holder according to the invention may be used as transport packaging for the at s least one fixing element accommodated therein. The at least one fixing element may be packaged in sterile manner in the transport packaging. To this end, it is possible to surround the holder with one or more further elements of transport packaging (e.g. wrappers such as plastic bags or troughs made of plastics).

to The invention further comprises a system for holding elongate surgical fixing ele ments, having a holder according to the invention and at least one fixing element held in the holder. The fixing element may comprise a shank and a head with a lar ger diameter than the shank. Preferably, the fixing element takes the form of a bone screw, bone nail or bone pin. The fixing element may exhibit a length of approxi mately 2 to 50 mm, preferably between approximately 4 and 25 mm.

The system may further comprise one or more transport packaging elements, which surround the holder (preferably in sterile manner). The at least one transport pack aging element may be transparent at least in parts, in order to provide a view of the to measuring scale.

The system according to the invention may comprise a surgical tray, rack or cart for I. accommodating the at least one holder. According to a further development of the .

. invention, the tray, rack or cart may be provided with one or more recesses for ac .e as commodating the holder. The recesses may exhibit a form adapted to the shape of the holders. Moreover, the recesses may be provided with bevelled areas, in order to simplify introduction of the holders into the recesses. : . .

According to a further aspect of the invention, a system is provided which comprises . e.

so the above-described holder, optionally also without measuring scale, together with the surgical tray, rack or cart with defined areas for accommodating the holder. - s -

Brief Description of the Drawings

Further details and advantages of the invention are revealed by the following de- s scription of preferred exemplary embodiments and by the Figures, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first exemplary embodiment of a holder with measuring scale according to the invention; to Fig. 2 is a further perspective view of the holder according to Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the holder according to Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a sectional view along line A-A of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a sectional view along line B-B of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the lid of the holder according to Fig. 1; to Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a further exemplary embodiment of a holder according to the invention without lid; Fig. 8 is a plan view of the holder according to Fig. 7; e A. Ache i!5 Fig. 9 shows a section along line B-B of Fig. 8; e.

: : Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a further exemplary embodiment of a holder according to the invention without lid; ..e so Fig. 11 is a front view of the holder according to Fig. 10 with lid; - 6 Figs. 12 show various views of transport packaging for a holder according to the to 15 invention; and Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a holder system according to the invention.

Description of Preferred Embodiments

A plurality of exemplary embodiments of holders and holder systems according to the invention are explained below. Corresponding elements are provided with the same to reference numerals.

Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of a holder 10 according to the invention. The holder comprises a transparent base member 12 and a transparent cover 14 for closing an upper portion of the base member 12 provided with a plurality of openings 16.

The base member 12 is made wholly of a transparent plastics material and is pro vided on a side wall 20 with a measuring scale 18 in the form of dark lettering. The measuring scale 18 serves to determine the length of a fixing element held in one of the openings 16. Due to the transparency of the base member 12, the fixing ele ment does not have to be taken out of the base member 12 to determine its length.

Instead, the fixing element held ready is (at least partially) visible through the side wall 20 of the base member 12 provided with the measuring scale 18. As a conse quence of the transparency of the base member 12 (at least in the area of the meas . uring scale 18), it is therefore possible to see both the measuring scale 18 and the .

. fixing element held in the base member 12 at the same time. .. ë

Owing to the transparency of the base member 12, the measuring scale 18 could of course also be attached to the inner face of the rear side wall 22 (which would not itself have to be transparent if the front side wall 20 is transparent) instead of in the area of the front side wall 20 (or in addition thereto). For the measuring scale ar ao ranged on the inside of the rear side wall 22 and the fixing element held ready to be visible at the same time, a suitably dimensioned opening could be provided in the area of the front side wall 20 (especially if the base member 12 is made of a non transparent material).

In an end area of the base member 12 there is provided an opening 23. This opening 23 allows a sterilising medium (e.g. steam) to reach the shank portions of the fixing elements held ready. Since the cover 14 is also steam- permeable, the fixing elements accommodated in the holder 10 may be completely and reliably sterilized.

The base member 12 appropriately exhibits a length of approximately 20 to approxi o mately 100 mm, preferably of approximately 25 to approximately 50 mm, and a width of approximately 7 to approximately 30 mm, preferably of approximately 8 to approximately 20 mm. A base member 12 which is so dimensioned may be held se curely by the surgeon between the fingers of one hand during a surgical operation.

Is The structure and mode of operation of the holder 10 illustrated in Fig. 1 is explained in more detail below with reference to Flps. 2 to 6. For the sake of clarity, the meas uring scale has merely been outlined in these Figures, though fully present in reality.

Fig. 2 clearly shows the ergonomic shape of the base member 12. It is therefore not JO only the dimensions but also the shape of the base member 12 which simplifies han dling of the holder 10 during a surgical operation. As Fig. 2 further reveals, the cover 14 takes the form of a sliding lid. In an area 24 at the bottom in Fig. 2, the cover 14 . :: is of undulating structure, in order in particular to simplify opening of the cover (with ..

gloves). The cover 14 is provided with a plurality of openings 26, in order to ensure Alas stean' permeability during sterilization. ë

The plan view of the base member 12 according to Fig. 3 shows a total of five open ings 16 arranged in a row for the introduction and holding of fixing elements. The base member 12 illustrated in Fig. 3 comprises only a single row of openings 16, but JO two or more parallel rows of openings 16 could also be provided. Labelling may be - 8 provided on the top 28 of the base member 12. The rebelling may relate to the di ameter and length of the fixing elements held therein.

Fig. 4 shows a longitudinal section through the base member 12 according to Fig. 3.

To illustrate the mode of operation of the holder 10, Fig. 4 shows by way of example a fixing element In the form of a bone screw 30 held therein. The bone screw 30 comprises a threaded screw shank 34 and a screw head 32 with a larger diameter than the shank 34. In the area of the screw head 32 there is provided a torque inser tlon structure for example in the form of a cross recess (not shown). The bone screw to 30 is picked up by means of a screwdriver, the blade of which comprises a gripping mechanism, which may operate magnetically or frictionally or interlockingly for ex ample, for simplifying removal of the bone screw 30 from the holder 10.

In the present embodiment, the bone screw 30 is held in hanging manner. This Is means that the screw head 32 rests (countersunk to a degree) on the surface 28 of the base member. The bone screw 30 may hang loosely in the opening 16 or be in contact with the defining wall of the opening 16 by means of a slight interference fit.

The slight interference fit ensures that the bone screw 30 does not fall out of the opening 16 if the holder 10 is tipped unintentionally.

Fig. 5 shows a partial sectional view along line B-B of Fig. 3. A conical stop face 36 for the head of the fixing element to be accommodated can be seen. The lower edge of the stop face 36, in Fig. 5, defines a reference point (the zero point) of the meas -.

uring scale. .e ..

Fig. 6 shows the cover 14 for the base member 12 of the holder 10 on a more ë enlarged scale. The undulating area 24 and the plurality of openings 26 are clearly visible, the latter ensuring that the cover 14 is permeable to steam. em.. -

so Figs. 7 to 9 show another embodiment of a holder 10 according to the invention. The holder 10 according to the second embodiment corresponds substantially to the - 9 - above-described holder of the first embodiment. The base member 12 of the holder according to the second embodiment is taller, however, so as to accommodate longer fixing elements than the first embodiment. The measuring scale 18 may either be arranged solely in the lower area of the side face 20 of the base member 12 (as shown in Fig. 7) or extend over the entire side face 20. The cover 14 of the base member 12 has been omitted in Figs. 7 and 8 for the sake of clarity, but it is shown in the sectional representation according to Fig. 9.

Figs. 10 and 11 show a third embodiment of a holder 10 according to the invention.

to Unlike in the previous embodiments, the measuring scale 18 (not to scale) is pro vided on a narrow end face of the wholly transparent base member 12. since the fixing elements are accommodated in a row (i.e. one behind the other) in the open ings 16 and since the scale 18 extends substantially perpendicularly to a straight line passing through the row of openings 16, reliable length measurement is possible, in particular for the fixing element held in the first opening 16 (adjacent the measuring scale 18). By looking through the transparent side wall 20 of the holder 10, it is pos sible to verify whether all the fixing elements accommodated therein are of matching length. Fig. 10 clearly shows the plurality of openings 23 in the base member 12.

These openings 23 make it easy for a sterilising medium to reach the fixing elements to accommodated in the holder 10 (or the elongate portions thereof).

Figs. 12 to 15 show transport packaging 50 for a holder 10 according to the invention in perspective view (Fig. 12), side view (Fig. 13), plan view from above in the closed state (Fig. 14) and plan view from above in the open state, with holder removed (Fig. 15). The transport packaging 50 may be part of a blister pack comprising a plurality . - of such transport packaging elements 50 and comprises a transparent plastics trough 52 and a tear-off plastics film 54 with a tear tab 56 closing the plastics trough 52. : . ..

Removal of the plastics film 54 produces the view shown in Fig. 15. The holder 10, so shown only schematically, is held secure between two (likewise transparent) ele ments 58, 58'. Due to the transparency of the entire transport packaging 50, measurement of the length of the fixing elements accommodated therein is possible - 10 urement of the length of the fixing elements accommodated therein is possible through the transport packaging 50. The fixing elements are appropriately supplied sterile in the transport packaging 50. The transport packaging 50 may be wrapped in a second packaging layer (e.g. a transparent plastic bag).

Fig. 16 shows a system 40 according to the invention having a surgical tray 42 and a plurality of holders 10. The surgical tray 42 has a receptacle 44 for surgical instru ments such as screwdrivers and a plurality of recesses 46 for accommodating holders 10. The recesses 46 serve for temporary storage of the holders 10 or as a safe place to to put down these holders 10 for removal of the fixing elements. The tray 42 further comprises an additional screw measuring block 48.

The holders 10 accommodated in the tray 42 are disposable products, which serve as sterile transport packaging for the fixing elements. The fixing elements may in this way be supplied in sterile packaging. During transportation, it is expedient for the holders 10 to be protected from any possible contamination by means of two barri ers. For instance, the holders 10 may be sealed in two plastic bags or supplied in hard-shell plastics troughs sealed with paper or plastics film (e.g. as in Figs. 12 to 15), which are in turn enclosed in a plastic bag.

Although the invention has been explained with reference to preferred embodiments, modifications, variations and additions are feasible and possible for the person skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is therefore restricted only by the scope of the claims which follow. . 25 ë -. : ...

Claims

Claims 1. A holder (10) for holding elongate surgical fixing elements

(30) such as bone screws, comprising a base member (12), which is designed and dimensioned to be held in one hand, wherein the base member (12) comprises at least one opening (16) for accommodating a fixing element (30) to be held at the ready to in an upright position and wherein a measuring scale (18) is provided in the area of the base member (12) for determining the length of the accommo dated fixing element (30).
2 The holder according to claim 1, characterized in that the base member (12) is Is constructed in such a way as to hold the at least one elongate surgical fixing element (30) in a hanging or standing position.
3. The holder according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the base member (12) comprises at least one transparent or open area (20) which of fers a view of both the measuring scale (18) and the accommodated fixing element (30).
4. The holder according to claim 3, characterized in that the measuring scale (18) is provided on or in the transparent area (20). . 25
5. The holder according to claim 3, characterized in that the measuring scale . (18) is provided on or in an area (22) opposite the transparent or open area (20) relative to the fixing element (30) to be accommodated. . A.

so
6. The holder according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one opening (16) permits hanging accommodation of the fixing ele ment (30). 1L
7. The holder according to claim 6, characterised in that the opening (30) has a limit stop (36) for cooperation with a widening of a diameter (32) of the fixing element (30) to be accommodated.

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8. The holder according to claim 7, characterised in that the limit stop (36) corre- sponds to a reference point on the measuring scale (18).
9. The holder according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the base member (12) is ergonomically shaped to simplify handling thereof.

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10. The holder according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a cover (14) for closing the base member (12) with regard to the at least one fixing element (30) accommodated therein.

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11. The holder according to claim 10, characterised in that the cover is a sliding lid (14).
12. The holder according to claim 10 or claim 11, characterised in that the cover (14) is permeable with respect to a sterilising medium.
13. The holder according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the base member (12) comprises at least one row of openings (16) for accommo : . dating a plurality of fixing elements (30).

-.25
14. The holder according to claim 13, characterised in that the measuring scale .

Hi (18) extends substantially perpendicularly to the at least one row of openings (16). . .
15. The holder according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the base member (12) comprises at least one opening (23), which allows the ster ilising medium to reach the at least one fixing element (30) held therein.
16. Use of a holder (10) according to one of claims 1 to 15 as a or with a trans port packaging (50) for the at least one fixing element (30).

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17. Use according to claim 16, characterized in that the at least one fixing element (30) is packaged in sterile manner in the transport packaging (10, 50).
18. A system (40) for holding elongate surgical fixing elements (30), comprising at least one holder (10) according to one of claims 1 to 15, and at least one fix o ing element (30,iheld in the holder (10).
19. The system according to claim 18, characterized in that the holder (10) is ac- commodated in transport packaging (50).

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20. The system (40) according to claim 19, characterized in that the transport packaging (50) is at least partially transparent and allows the measuring scale (18) to be seen.
21. The system according to one of claims 18 to 20, characterized in that the fix ing element (30) comprises a shank (34) and a head (32) of larger diameter than the shank (34).

:,: .
22. The system according to one of claims 18 to 21, further comprising a surgical I. tray (40), rack or cart for accommodating the at least one holder (10).

e .25 e.
23. The system according to claim 22, characterized in that the tray (40), rack or cart comprises one or more recesses (46) for accommodating the at least one

-

. holder (10).