ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,251,137, issued on March 18, was assigned to DePuy Synthes Products Inc. (Raynham, Mass.).
"Bone fixation assembly" was invented by Fridolin J. Schlaepfer (Hoelstein, Switzerland), Christian Ammann (Oberwil, Switzerland) and Stefan Saladin (Oberbuchsiten, Switzerland).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The present invention is directed an anchor assembly for use in spinal fixation to interconnect a longitudinal spinal rod with a patient's vertebra. The anchor assembly preferably includes a bone anchor, a body with a rod-receiving channel, an insert member (preferably a bushing), and a locking cap with a saddle. The anchor assembly preferably...