Curved Bone Cannula Access for Accurate Vertebral Nerve Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods struggle to navigate treatment devices accurately through varying bone densities to reach targeted areas like the posterior midline section of vertebral bodies, particularly due to the difficulty in creating predictable curved paths in cancellous bone.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a deployable Nitinol tube and cannula with a deflectable tip to create a curved path in bone, allowing a treatment device to navigate through varying bone densities and reach the target zone accurately.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a straight linear access route is used to place a probe in the vertebral body, then the surgical procedure is simpler, but it is difficult to reach the posterior midline section of the vertebra
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a curved cannula with a pre-formed curve configuration that allows the probe to navigate through the vertebral body and reach the posterior midline section. The curved path enables access to previously inaccessible areas while maintaining a minimally invasive approach, resolving the contradiction between surgical simplicity and positioning accuracy.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a probe is navigated through varying densities of bone to reach the posterior midline section, then the target area becomes accessible, but it is difficult to ensure accurate positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The curved cannula serves as an intermediary device that guides the probe through the varying bone densities. The pre-formed curve in the cannula provides a stable, predictable path that maintains probe positioning accuracy despite the heterogeneous bone structure, allowing reliable access to the posterior midline section.
3Productivity
If a side exiting coaxial needle is used for tissue aspiration, then multiple biopsies can be taken, but the needle deviates from a linear path due to tissue density variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes a flexible cannula with a pre-formed curve that maintains its shape despite the soft and cancellous bone environment. This flexibility allows the cannula to navigate through varying tissue densities while maintaining a controlled trajectory, enabling multiple biopsies to be taken along the curved path without significant deviation.
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 predictable and accurate deployment of treatment devices to targeted areas within bone, regardless of cancellous bone density, by creating a curved channel that maintains the device's linear trajectory towards the intended location.
Implementation Method 1
A system utilizing a deployable Nitinol tube and cannula with a deflectable tip to create a curved path in bone
Data Source
AI summary
System and methods for channeling a path into bone include a trocar having a proximal end, distal end and a central channel disposed along a central axis of the trocar. The trocar includes a distal opening at the distal end of the trocar. The system includes a curved cannula sized to be received in the central channel, the curved cannula comprising a curved distal end configured to be extended outward from the distal opening to generate a curved path extending away from the trocar. The curved cannula has a central passageway having a diameter configured to allow a treatment device to be delivered through the central passageway to a location beyond the curved path.