US Patent 10492923 Expanding implant with hinged arms

An implant (500, 600) includes first and second arms (14a, 14b) hinged to a base (12) at spaced-apart locations. An actuator (18, 22a, 22b, 602, 604, 606) is deployed to rotate the arms from an initial position in opposing angular motion towards a final position. A rigid bridging element (28) bridges between the arms so that deployment of the arms towards the final position displaces the bridging element away from the base. Engagement between the bridging element and at least one of the arms is via a double pin-in-slot engagement in which two non-collinear pins (30, 40) are engaged in respective non-parallel slots (32, 42).