| 主权项 |
1. An enhanced artificial disk comprising:
a disk, wherein the disk comprises a comprises a substantially firm outer surface and a soft inner surface; a stabilizer, wherein the stabilizer is mounted to the disk at a first end to prevent backward movement of the disk; and a stabilizer band, wherein the stabilizer band is positioned along a circumference of the disk, wherein the stabilizer band comprises a protrusion for secureably coupling the stabilizer with the disk, wherein the stabilizer comprises a casing, wherein the casing comprises a front wall and a rear wall, wherein a cavity is enclosed within the front wall and the rear wall, and wherein the rear wall has a keyhole-shaped opening for receiving the protrusion of the stabilizer band, wherein said keyhole-shaped opening includes a substantially globular crown and a constricted tail, and wherein the tail is parallel to a longitudinal axis that extends substantially through the center of the stabilizer; wherein, the protrusion is configured to be trapped inside and movable within said cavity of the stabilizer and an overall width of the cavity taken along a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis being larger than the substantially globular crown and the constricted tail which facilitates movement of the protrusion between the globular crown and the bottom of the tail within the cavity to allow the enhanced artificial disk to exhibit flexion, extension, compression, left and right lateral flexion and left and right rotation, and also preventing abnormal range of motion of the enhanced artificial disc when it is implanted in space defined by a first vertebra above and a second vertebra below and thus allowing the enhanced artificial disk to approximate full range of motion of a normal disk when it is implanted in the space defined by the first vertebra above and the second vertebra below. |
