Customized Intervertebral Prosthetic Disc with Shock Absorption

Abstract

A prosthesis system comprises plates that can be positioned against vertebrae and a selected resilient core that can be positioned between the plates to allow the plates to articulate. The selected resilient core can be chosen from a plurality of cores in response to patient characteristics, such as age and/or intervertebral mobility, such that the prosthesis implanted in the patient is tailored to the needs of the patient. The plurality of cores may comprise cores with different resiliencies, and one of the cores can be selected such that the upper and lower plates articulate with the desired shock absorbing resiliency and/or maximum angle of inclination when the one selected core is positioned between the plates.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]None.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to medical devices and methods. More specifically, the invention relates to intervertebral disc prostheses.[0003]Back pain takes an enormous toll on the health and productivity of people around the world. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, approximately 80 percent of Americans will experience back pain at some time in their life. In just the year 2000, approximately 26 million visits were made to physicians' offices due to back problems in the United States. On any one day, it is estimated that 5% of the working population in America is disabled by back pain.[0004]One common cause of back pain is injury, degeneration and / or dysfunction of one or more intervertebral discs. Intervertebral discs are the soft tissue structures located between each of the thirty-three vertebral bones that make up the vertebral (spinal) column. Essentially, the discs all...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]Embodiments of the present invention provide customizable intervertebral prostheses systems and methods. The prosthesis system comprises supports that can be positioned against vertebrae and a selected resilient core that can be positioned between the supports to allow the supports to articulate. The resilient core can be selected from a plurality of cores in response to patient characteristics, such as age and / or intervertebral mobility, such that the prosthesis implanted in the patient is tailored to the needs of the patient. The plurality of cores comprise cores with different resiliencies, and one of the cores can be selected such that the upper and lower supports articulate with the desired shock absorbing resiliency and / or maximum angle of inclination when the selected core is positioned between the supports. The shock absorbing core may be compressed during insertion into the intervertebral space to minimize distraction between the vertebrae. The supports can comprise known support plates and may comprise, in some embodiments, in situ expandable supports to minimize the invasiveness of the procedure.

Problems solved by technology

Back pain takes an enormous toll on the health and productivity of people around the world.

One common cause of back pain is injury, degeneration and / or dysfunction of one or more intervertebral discs.

Discs often become damaged due to wear and tear or acute injury.

Degeneration or other damage to a disc may cause a loss of “disc height,” meaning that the natural space between two vertebrae decreases.

Decreased disc height may cause a disc to bulge, facet loads to increase, two vertebrae to rub together in an unnatural way and / or increased pressure on certain parts of the vertebrae and / or nerve roots, thus causing pain.

In general, chronic and acute damage to intervertebral discs is a common source of back related pain and loss of mobility.

When one or more damaged intervertebral discs cause a patient pain and discomfort, surgery is often required.

Although fusion often treats the back pain, it reduces the patient's ability to move, because the back cannot bend or twist at the fused area.

In addition, fusion increases stresses at adjacent levels of the spine, potentially accelerating degeneration of these discs.

For example, some disc prostheses may only partially restore patient motion in some patients.

For example, older patients may have a smaller range of motion between vertebrae than younger patients, and a prosthesis with an appropriate range of motion for a younger patient may provide an excessive range of motion for an older patient.

Younger active patients may place a greater load on a disc prosthesis, and current prostheses may be less than ideal for restoring motion between the vertebrae in a manner that fully accommodates such active patients.

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