Appeal No. 1999-0713
Application 08/325,629
corresponding arguments in the briefs, claims 11, 14, 16 and
17 shall stand or fall with claim 15, claims 10 and 13 shall
stand or fall with claim 12 and claim 9 shall stand or fall
alone.
II. Group I - claims 11 and 14 through 17
Puno, the examiner’s primary reference, discloses “an
apparatus for posterior internal fixation of the spine”
(column 1, lines 6 and 7). In general, the apparatus includes
a stainless steel rod 18 adapted to span the vertebrae to be
immobilized and a series of stainless steel anchors 16
designed to secure the vertebrae to the rod (see Figure 1).
Of particular interest is the embodiment shown in Figures 7
and 8 wherein each of the anchors comprises a transpedicular
screw 21 and a rod support 116. As described by Puno,
rod support 116 includes a U-shaped head 117 which
defines a rod-receiving channel 118 having a depth
which exceeds the diameter of the rod 18. The rod
18 engages the channel 118 and is secured within the
channel 118 by wires 120 which extend through bores
122 transverse to the longitudinal axis of the rod
18. The head 116 includes on its underside, two
fillets 124 which act to grip the bone. In the
second embodiment, the rod support 116 is
countersunk 123 to accommodate the screw head 30.
. . . [T]he screw may be an integral portion
of the anchor. It is preferable however, that the
screw is a separate member having . . . freedom of
movement [column 6, lines 7 through 20].
4
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007