Cervical Spine Lateral Mass Fixation Guide
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current posterior cervical fusion techniques require extensive soft tissue dissection, leading to acute and chronic pain, longer hospital stays, and potential permanent soft tissue deformation, making them less favorable compared to anterior approaches.
Innovation Solution
The development of guide devices and systems that allow for minimally invasive or less invasive posterior access to the cervical spine, enabling the precise placement of spinal fixation devices without direct visualization, thereby reducing tissue disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If posterior cervical fusion with lateral mass fixation is performed, then rigid fixation of the cervical spine is achieved, but extensive soft tissue dissection is required causing acute and chronic pain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a percutaneous guide needle as an intermediary tool that enables screw placement through a minimally invasive path. The guide needle acts as a mediator between the external approach and the lateral mass target, allowing rigid fixation to be achieved without extensive soft tissue dissection. The guide needle provides a controlled pathway that avoids the need for large incisions and muscle stripping while still enabling precise screw insertion into the lateral mass.
2Manufacturing precision
If direct visualization is used to safely perform posterior cervical fusion, then proper screw placement is ensured, but extensive muscle and soft tissue dissection is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical approach of direct visualization through large incisions with a percutaneous guidance system. The guide needle provides a mechanical pathway that substitutes for the need to physically expose the surgical field through extensive dissection. This mechanical substitution allows for precise screw placement accuracy to be maintained while avoiding the complexity and trauma of extensive soft tissue dissection.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If percutaneous approach is attempted for screw insertion, then soft tissue disruption is reduced, but soft tissue gets caught in the drill and the drill can skid off the bone
Solution Approach 1:
The guide needle serves as a protective intermediary that prevents direct contact between the drill/screw and the surrounding soft tissue. By establishing a pre-positioned pathway through the soft tissue, the guide needle acts as a shield that prevents soft tissue from being caught in the drill bits. The guide needle also provides a stable mechanical reference that prevents the drill from skidding off the bone, thereby maintaining reliability while minimizing soft tissue disruption.
4Illumination intensity
If extensive dissection is performed for posterior access, then direct visualization is achieved, but hospitalization time increases to three to four days for pain control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of visualization and guidance from the extensive dissection process. By using a percutaneous guide needle that can be inserted through a small incision, the patent removes the need for large incisions and extensive muscle dissection while still providing the necessary guidance for accurate screw placement. This extraction of the critical guidance function from the traumatic dissection process enables shorter hospitalization times by avoiding the severe soft tissue trauma that would require prolonged pain management and recovery.
Data Source
AI summary
A device for accessing and guiding at least one fixation device to a spine may include a distal portion configured to fit in a facet of the spine and a proximal portion extending from the distal portion. The proximal portion may be detachable from the distal portion and may be hollow or solid. A system for accessing and guiding at least one fixation device to a spine may include a distal portion configured to fit in a facet of the spine, a proximal portion extending from the distal portion, and a slidable guide device for sliding over the facet guide device to guide at least one instrument to the spine.