Adjustable Spinal Plate With Rotatable Locking Ends
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional spinal plates are difficult to modify accurately to fit diverse patient spine shapes, leading to incomplete attachment during surgery and the need for additional procedures, especially in minimally invasive spine surgery where small skin incisions require adaptable implantation.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable spinal plate with rotatable end bodies and a locking mechanism that converts rotational motion into linear motion, allowing for customizable angle adjustments and secure fixation to the central body, enabling precise shaping and secure attachment to vertebrae.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the spinal plate shape is modified for each patient's spine shape, then the adaptability to diverse spine shapes is improved, but the device complexity and difficulty of accurate modification increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spinal plate is divided into a central body and multiple end bodies that can be independently positioned and fixed. Each end body can be separately adjusted to different positions and angles relative to the central body, allowing the plate to adapt to diverse spine shapes through modular configuration rather than complex overall redesign.
Solution Approach 2:
The end bodies are designed with rotatable joints that allow dynamic adjustment to different positions and angles. The rotation devices enable the end bodies to be positioned at various orientations relative to the central body, providing adaptability to different spine anatomies while maintaining a relatively simple fixed-structure plate design.
2Reliability
If the spinal plate is made adjustable to fit various spine shapes, then the completeness of attachment is improved, but the device complexity and surgical time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The rotation locking device incorporates a self-locking mechanism where the pressing unit automatically engages with the rotation device to maintain the selected position. The switching unit converts rotational motion into linear motion that activates the locking action, allowing the surgeon to simply rotate the end body to the desired position while the system automatically secures it, ensuring reliable attachment without complex manual locking procedures.
3Manufacturing precision
If the spinal plate shape is customized during surgery, then the surgical precision is improved, but the surgical time and procedure complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spinal plate is designed with pre-configured end bodies that can be quickly positioned and fixed at different locations and angles. The standardized rotation and locking mechanisms allow surgeons to make precise adjustments without complex modification procedures, significantly reducing the time required for intraoperative customization while maintaining high precision in plate-to-spine fitting.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise modification of the spinal plate's shape to match individual spine anatomy, ensuring secure attachment and reducing the need for additional surgeries, while facilitating minimally invasive procedures through smaller incisions.
Implementation Method 1
a switching unit that converts a rotational motion applying an external force into a linear motion
Implementation Method 2
a pressing unit that is displaced in the longitudinal direction of the central body by the switching unit and is in close contact with the rotation device to limit the rotation of the rotation device
Implementation Method 3
at least one of the pair of end bodies includes a rotation device configured to fix the end body to the central body in a selectively rotatable manner
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a spinal plate which is used to perform fixation surgery on a spine in orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery. According to the present invention, a rotation device and a locking device may be installed so as to be used by fixing any one or more of longitudinal ends of the plate with being rotated at any angle, thereby allowing a doctor to modify a shape of the spinal plate to the shape desired by the doctor, and to perform the surgery by coping with various spin shapes of patients. In addition, according to the present invention, since the shape of the spinal plate may be rotated at any angle, it is possible to cope with various spin shapes of the patients.