Adjustable Joint Spacer with Sliding Locking Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgically implantable devices for damaged biological joints, such as inter-vertebrae discs, hips, and shoulders, face limitations in expansion and locking mechanisms, leading to reduced mobility and increased stress on adjacent joints, necessitating additional surgical procedures.
Innovation Solution
A surgically implantable spacer with a primary body, a normal positioning member, and a translative positioning and locking control member, which slides and locks to expand and provide support across the joint, allowing for adjustable height and retention features to enhance joint stability and reduce stress on adjacent joints.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a fused region is created to support the joint, then joint stability is improved, but stress on adjacent joints increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer is divided into multiple segments including a primary body, normal positioning member, and translative positioning and locking control member. This segmentation allows the device to provide stability through structured support while distributing mechanical loads across multiple interfaces, thereby reducing stress concentration on adjacent joints.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacer incorporates dynamic positioning capabilities through the translative positioning and locking control member that can slide along the normal axis. This dynamic feature allows adjustment of the spacer height to optimize load distribution and reduce stress on adjacent joints while maintaining joint stability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the spacer height is increased to provide more support, then joint stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer employs a dynamic height adjustment mechanism where the normal positioning member can translate along the normal axis of the primary body. This allows the spacer height to be adjusted post-implantation to provide optimal support without requiring multiple fixed-height device variants, thereby managing complexity while maintaining stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The translative positioning and locking control member enables the surgeon or patient to adjust the spacer height without requiring additional surgical intervention or complex external adjustment mechanisms. The self-contained adjustment system simplifies the overall device structure while providing customizable support levels.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the spacer is made expandable to fit different joint sizes, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer incorporates a dynamic expansion capability through the normal positioning member that can translate along the normal axis to adjust the overall height of the device. This single-degree-of-freedom adjustment mechanism provides adaptability to different joint sizes without requiring multiple expandable dimensions or complex multi-axial adjustment systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The normal positioning member is nested within the primary body structure, allowing it to slide along the normal axis without requiring external adjustment mechanisms. This nested configuration enables height adjustment while maintaining a compact, integrated device structure that minimizes overall complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A surgically implantable spacer including a primary body, a normal positioning member, and a translative positioning and locking control member. The normal positioning member is slideably assembled to the primary body, wherein the normal positioning member slides in a normal direction. The locking control member is slideably assembled to the normal positioning member. Projections of the locking control member seat in one of a series of positioning notches. The series of positioning notches are arranged in a stair step arrangement. As the locking control member is driven forward, the locking control member is raised by the projection and notch arrangement, thus raising the normal positioning member. This motion increases a span between a bottom surface and a top surface of the surgically implantable spacer.