referring first to fig1 a - 1 c , a side view of an unexpanded , or collapsed , cage 1 with hinges 10 , 20 , 30 and 40 at the corners and hinges 50 and 60 in the middle of the left and right planes is shown . while the use of hinges with separate parts is also an option , such as a conventional pinned hinge , this invention preferably includes the use of solid hinges to keep the number of parts as low as possible . solid hinges can employ preferential bending spots , made by locally cutting , grinding or heat treating the material , and can further be made self - locking after expansion of the cage 1 by means of a mechanical stop in the hinge . an elongate instrument , preferably in the form of a restraining tool 80 , contains a tension wire 70 and an outer tube 81 . in the preferred embodiment , the distal end 82 of the outer tube 81 acts as a pusher unit , while the tension wire 70 acts as a puller unit . a restraining element 71 , preferably in the form of a button or hook , is disposed on a distal end of tension wire 70 , and can be engaged to the cage 1 through an aperture 61 near hinge 60 . similarly , a distal end 82 of restraining tool 80 can be pushed against hinge 50 . the relative movement between proximal ends 72 of tension wire 70 and outer tube 81 enables the operator to either maintain force f 1 to keep hinges 50 and 60 pulled close towards each other , thus bringing and keeping the cage 1 in its unexpanded state , or to release force f 1 , thus allowing the cage 1 to expand . fig1 b shows the unexpanded cage 1 and restraining tool 80 in a delivery tube 90 , shown cutaway for clarity . delivery tube 90 includes a proximal end 98 and distal end 99 . the semi - rigid structural nature of delivery tube 90 prevents premature expansion of cage 1 . fig1 c shows a side view of two vertebra bodies 31 and 32 with the intervertebral disc removed , thus creating a gap 33 to be filled with cage 1 , which is inserted into gap 33 through insertion tube 90 . force f 2 ( shown in fig1 c as a tension force ) applied to the spine maintains gap 33 during the deployment of cage 1 . referring now to fig2 a - 2 c , a side view of cage 1 ( now expanded ) shows that , upon allowing the relative movement between hinges 50 and 60 , made possible through the relative displacement between restraining element 71 on the distal end of tension wire 70 and distal end 82 of outer tube 81 . the elastic energy inherent in cage 1 pushes outward , forcing the hinges to return to their released position , coincident with a first expanded state . this in turn permits restraining element 71 to be backed out through aperture 61 . the geometry of the restraining element 71 and aperture 61 in hinge 60 is chosen such that restraining element 71 can easily be detached from the hinge 60 . for example , the shape change of aperture 61 caused by the elastic deformation of hinge 60 could be such that upon expansion , the aperture 61 assumes a circular or elliptical shape of sufficient cross - sectional area that restraining element 71 is able to pass through aperture 61 , thereby becoming automatically released . similarly , the geometry of the opposing hinge 50 and adjacent aperture 51 ( shown in fig3 b ), has to allow the removal of distal end 71 of the wire , as well as take up the force f 1 exerted by outer tube 81 . fig2 b shows the cage in its first expanded state , along with released restraining tool 80 . outer tube 81 is multifunctional in that it is used as part of restraining tool 80 , as well as to push the cage 1 out of delivery tube 90 , as shoulders formed on the distal end 82 of outer tube 81 engage the surface of the cage 1 peripherally around aperture 51 . fig2 c shows a side view of two unloaded vertebra bodies and a cross section of the device of fig2 b . the cage 1 has just been pushed out of the delivery tube 90 , and the restraining tool 80 has been released . as long as force f 1 ( shown in fig1 a ) in the restraining tool 80 is maintained , it is very easy to push the cage out of delivery tube 90 , while the friction is negligible , thus allowing precise and simple repositioning of the cage 1 . referring now to fig3 a - 3 c , a side view is shown of cage 1 , as well as a removed restraining tool 80 . by force f 2 ( shown initially in compression ), the cage 1 slightly deforms from the first expanded state of fig2 a - 2 c until the hinges reach their locked position , thus establishing a second expanded state . for hinges 10 , 20 , 30 and 40 , the respective gaps 12 , 22 , 32 and 42 close at the outside , while for hinges 50 and 60 the gaps 52 and 62 close at the inside . fig3 b shows a perspective view of a loaded expanded cage in its second expanded state with the hinges in locked position . apertures 51 and 61 can also be seen . fig3 c shows a side view of two loaded vertebrae and a cross section of cage 1 . the removal of force f 2 at the spine has lead to the loading of the cage 1 . [ 0040 ] fig4 and 5 show some of the various stages of the deployment and assembly of assembled cage 6 , which is made up of two expanded cages 4 and 5 . if cage 4 is already in its second expanded state ( such that the hinges reach their locked , mechanically stopped positions ), cage 5 must first be collapsed and then inserted in a direction perpendicular to the delivery of cage 4 . cage 4 has surfaces 45 and 46 matable with surfaces 55 and 56 of cage 5 . the geometry of these surfaces is made so that cages 4 and 5 fit tightly together by the interaction between matable surfaces 45 with 55 , and 46 with 56 , respectively . fig4 b shows a top view of vertebra 32 , a first cage 4 and a delivery tube 90 just after placement of the first cage 4 . fig5 a shows two cages 4 and 5 after they have been expanded to their second expanded state , and put together to form assembled cage 6 . a substantially hollow central region 6 a is formed within the space defined substantially by the top , bottom and side walls of assembled cage 6 . fig5 b shows a top view of the vertebra , the assembled cage 6 and the delivery tube 90 just after placement of the second cage 5 . [ 0041 ] fig6 a and 6 b show the introduction of the reinforcing element 91 , initially in the form of an oblong strip 91 a , into the substantially hollow central region of the assembled cage 6 . in the present context , an object is “ oblong ” when it is in a state where its aspect ratio is such that its extension in one axial dimension is far greater than in another axial dimension . in fig6 a , a top view of a vertebra and the insertion from the delivery tube 90 of the reinforcing element 91 into the unloaded assembled cage 6 is shown . the distal end 92 of reinforcing element 91 starts to roll up in the central region 6 a of the assembled cage 6 . by continuing the insertion , the rest of the reinforcing element 91 can be pushed forward until it is entirely deployed in assembled cage 6 . as long as the internal height of the assembled cage 6 is slightly larger than the width of the reinforcing element 91 , the reinforcing element 91 can easily be moved around to ensure optimum positioning . after placement of the reinforcing element 91 into central region 6 a and removal of force f 2 ( shown in fig2 c and 3 a ) from the spine ( not shown ), the inner surface of assembled cage 6 will rest on the reinforcing element 91 , which when fully deployed is of a substantially planar spiral geometry 91 b . fig6 b shows the combination of assembled cage 6 and the substantially planar spiral geometry 91 b of reinforcing element 91 results in a reinforced cage 9 . in this stable form , where the inner surface of the assembled cage 6 is pressed against the top and bottom of the substantially planar spiral geometry 91 b of reinforcing element 91 , even very high axial loads can be applied without plastic deformation of the reinforced cage 9 . the reinforcing element 91 can be made of any material and form that will give it the capability to be delivered in an initially oblong shape 91 a , and then to roll up into substantially planar spiral geometry 91 b upon deployment . preferably , the reinforcing element 91 can be made of a strip with a curved cross section such that it resembles the well - known measuring tape that easily rolls up in a cylindrical housing . such a strip , preferably made of a biocompatible material , such as surgical steel or a shape memory material with superelastic or shape memory behavior , can be moved into the assembled cage 6 with a very low insertion force . with a shape memory strip with superelastic behavior , the conversion from the oblong form to the rolled up form will commence as soon as the strip leaves delivery tube 90 . in situations involving a shape memory strip with shape memory behavior , the strip can be heated above its transformation temperature by means of a small heating source in distal end 99 ( shown in fig1 b ) of the delivery tube 90 . the shape memory behavior option has the advantage that the friction in delivery tube 90 is lower than with the superelastic behavior option , where the tendency to roll up in the latter is opposed by the inner wall of delivery tube 90 over the entire length of the strip . the heating source can be of any type , comprising radiation , elevated temperature fluid , a peltier element , or resistive heating . referring now to fig7 a - 7 c , fig7 a shows a cage 7 expanded in the z direction , similar to that of previous embodiment expanded cage 1 , but with a slightly variant configuration . the top surface of cage 7 has two hinges 73 and 74 that are deformed to a closed position , while hinges 75 and 76 are deformed to an open position . the bottom surface is similar to the top surface , and will therefore not be discussed further . upon release from the delivery tube 90 , the separate arms 77 and 78 of the top surface will move apart to relieve elastic energy . the shape of the hinges 73 to 76 enables a rotation of non - deforming arms 77 and 78 . fig7 b shows the cage 7 after expansion in the x - y plane , where the shape of hinges 73 to 76 has changed , and the new geometry of cage 7 gives it more stability against loads along the x and y directions . fig7 c shows the cage 7 after it has been filled with the reinforcing element 91 , resulting in reinforce cage 17 . such a single - piece cage has the added benefit of being insertable through a single incision . the hinges 73 and 74 are oriented such that the arms 77 and 78 pivot from them around an axis that is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the intervertebral space . referring now to fig8 a - 8 c , fig8 a shows a cage 8 of still another configuration , which , like the previous embodiment of fig7 a - 7 c , is already expanded into the z direction . it has additional expansion capability by means of bending in the x - y plane . arms 87 and 88 of the top surface are still parallel , but without restraint , they have the tendency to bend in the x - y plane . the bottom surface of cage 8 is similar to the top surface , and will therefore not be discussed further . in contrary to cage 7 of the previous embodiment , where the hinges absorb the strain due to expansion , arms 87 and 88 of cage 8 deform . fig8 b shows the cage 8 after expansion into a fully released state in the x - y plane . fig8 c shows reinforced cage 18 , comprising cage 8 and reinforcing element 91 in its substantially planar spiral geometry 91 b . it is also possible to make combinations of the aforedescribed embodiments . for example , a cage ( not shown ), similar to cage 8 , can also incorporate hinges such as those employed in cage 7 , so that strains due to expansion can be divided between bending members similar to arms 87 and 88 and hinges similar to hinges 74 to 76 . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , having regard to this disclosure , that other modifications of this invention beyond these embodiments specifically described here may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention . accordingly , such modifications are considered within the scope of the invention as limited solely by the appended claims .
an expandable inter - vertebral prosthesis . the prosthesis takes over the supporting function of the inter - vertebra disc between two adjacent vertebra bodies , and includes one or more cages and a reinforcing element . upon cage expansion , a hollow central portion of the cage can accommodate the reinforcing element . the reinforcing element , upon expansion , assumes a spiral shape , and substantially fills up the hollow central portion of the cage to provide enhanced load - bearing capability in a substantially longitudinal spinal direction . hinges in the cage permit expansion and , once the cage has expanded , prevent it from collapsing . delivery of the cage in an unexpanded condition into an inter - vertebral space is ensured with a restraining tool that engages the hinge members . the cage , reinforcing element and restraining tool are inserted with the aid of a conventional delivery tube .