ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 4 -- United States Patent no. 12,318,087, issued on June 3, was assigned to Life Spine Inc. (Huntley, Ill.).

"Vertebral disc auger" was invented by David T. Mehl (Lake in the Hills, Ill.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A medical instrument for shaving, collecting, and removing vertebral disc material from a vertebral disc space of a spine, has a shaft defining a proximal shaft end and a distal shaft end, and an auger at the distal shaft end. The auger has a plurality of helical cutting flutes configured to shave and collect vertebral disc material from the vertebral disc through rotation of the auger. Each helical cutting flute has a cutting apex that together define a cu...