ORTHOPAEDIC MEDICAL DEVICE

摘要

An artificial disc having a pair of opposing plates (810,830) for seating against opposing vertebral bone surfaces separated by a supporting element (820) , functioning as both a spacer and structural support. Various plate geometries are disclosed including ones with flat outer faces and ones with convex outer faces to conform to the adjacent vertebral mating surface geometry. Inner surfaces are described as comprising two sloping substantially flat or curved surfaces meeting at an ridgeline with a radius. Various inner device embodiments are disclosed. The inner spacer/ support devices are dispersed between the plates, through various disclosed couplings, so that the plates com- press, rotate and angulate freely relative to one another, enabling the artificial disc to mimic a healthy natural intervertebral disc.