ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,303,172, issued on May 20, was assigned to Alphatec Spine Inc. (Carlsbad, Calif.).
"Occipital plates and related methods" was invented by Catherine Pinion (San Diego), Fernando Olea (Escondido, Calif.) and Thomas Henry Hackathorn II (Vista, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Disclosed herein are occipital plates that include a fixation plate portion and at least two extensions integrally connected to the fixation plate portion and extending away from the fixation plate portion. The fixation plate portion has a plurality of through-holes for receiving bone screws that secure the occipital plate to a patient's skull or, specifically, th...