Cervical Plate Alignment Using Positioning Templates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cervical spinal fusion surgeries face challenges in accurately aligning and positioning cervical plates over the midline of vertebrae, often requiring oversized plates that can lead to adjacent segment degeneration due to misalignment and erosion of the disc space.
Innovation Solution
The use of templates with centering and pilot screw holes, coupled with interbody grafts that self-center and adjustable plates, ensures precise alignment and orthogonal placement of cervical plates over the midline, allowing for the use of the shortest possible plate length during surgery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If cervical plates are used without precise alignment tools, then the surgical procedure is simpler, but the plate may be misaligned leading to adjacent segment degeneration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs templates with pre-defined hole patterns that are positioned on the vertebrae before screw placement. These templates pre-establish the correct alignment and spacing for all subsequent drilling and screw insertion operations, ensuring midline alignment and orthogonality are achieved before the actual fixation begins.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces templates as intermediary tools between the surgeon and the vertebrae. These templates serve as mediators that translate the desired plate position into actionable drilling guides, allowing precise transfer of alignment information without requiring complex measurement procedures during the critical screw placement phase.
2Manufacturing precision
If oversized cervical plates are used to ensure coverage, then the plate can accommodate alignment variations, but the plate length increases leading to adjacent segment erosion
Solution Approach 1:
The templates are positioned and secured to the vertebrae before any drilling or screw placement occurs. This preliminary positioning establishes the exact boundaries and orientation for the plate, allowing surgeons to drill precisely within the template-defined areas and achieve accurate plate placement with minimal plate length required for coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The templates provide localized guidance at specific positions on the vertebrae, creating precise drilling zones rather than requiring overall plate oversizing. By concentrating alignment precision at the critical screw hole locations, the system enables use of appropriately sized plates without unnecessary extension into adjacent segments.
3Productivity
If multiple drilling and alignment steps are performed manually, then flexibility is maintained, but the surgical time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into the template structure: positioning guidance, drilling alignment, and spacing control are all integrated into a single template component. This merging eliminates the need for separate alignment tools and measurement procedures, allowing surgeons to perform multiple functions with one device and reduce the number of procedural steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The templates are designed to serve multiple purposes: they guide drill bit placement, ensure proper spacing between screws, maintain orthogonality, and verify midline alignment. This multi-functionality allows a single device to replace several specialized tools, improving surgical efficiency without significantly increasing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Implementations of devices for use in cervical spinal operations. Implementations may include a template including a central hole therethrough and two or more screw holes therethrough. The central hole may be configured to be inserted over a handle of a trial. The template may be configured to place a first of the two or more screw holes over a rostral vertebra and to place a second of the two or more screw holes over a caudal vertebra. Implementations may also include a template including a central hole therethrough and two or more screw holes therethrough. The central hole may be configured to couple over an inserter. The template may be configured to place a first of the two or more screw holes over a rostral vertebra and to place a second of the two or more screw holes over a caudal vertebra.