Deformable Spinal Instrument for Controlled Bone Compaction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical instrumentation for treating spinal compression fractures lacks control over the direction and magnitude of force exerted during bone compaction, leading to uncontrolled expansion and varying compaction forces on vertebral tissue, and requires separate instruments for accessing, reducing fractures, and delivering filling materials.
Innovation Solution
A surgical instrument featuring an elongate member with a deformable distal portion that transitions from an initial to a deformed configuration to form a cavity in the spinal structure, using a cannula member and actuator member to control the deformation and allow for material delivery through a single device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If balloon-like devices are inflated to compact cancellous bone and reduce compression fractures, then bone compaction and fracture reduction are achieved, but the direction and magnitude of force are uncontrolled and expansion occurs in multiple directions
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument divides the expansion function into multiple independent expandable members (e.g., balloons) that can be controlled separately. Each member can be inflated to exert compaction force in a specific direction, allowing the surgeon to control the direction and magnitude of force applied to the cancellous bone and compression fracture sites.
Solution Approach 2:
The instrument allows independent control of inflation parameters (pressure, volume, timing) for each expandable member. By adjusting these parameters, the surgeon can precisely control the magnitude and direction of compaction force exerted on the bone tissue, achieving controlled fracture reduction without uncontrolled multi-directional expansion.
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate instruments are used for accessing, reducing fractures, and delivering filling material, then each function can be performed by specialized tools, but the overall procedure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument combines multiple previously separate functions into a single integrated device: (1) access to the vertebral body through a needle or trocar, (2) deployment of expandable members for bone compaction and fracture reduction, (3) delivery of filling material (bone cement or substitutes) through the same instrument, and (4) potential deployment of fixation elements. This integration reduces the number of separate instruments and procedural steps required.
Solution Approach 2:
The instrument is designed as a multi-functional platform that can perform various spinal fracture treatment functions through a single access point. The expandable members can be configured for different reduction needs, and the same instrument delivers both the reduction force and the filling material, making it a universal tool for percutaneous vertebral fracture treatment.
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
The instrument provides controlled and directional compaction of bone tissue, forming a cavity for fracture reduction and allowing for precise delivery of filling materials, thereby improving the accuracy and efficiency of spinal fracture treatment while simplifying the surgical process by combining functions into a single instrument.
Implementation Method 1
a deformable distal portion having an initial configuration for placement within a spinal structure and a deformed configuration wherein the distal portion is outwardly deformed to form a cavity in the spinal structure
Implementation Method 2
an actuator member removably positioned within the cannula member and configured to transition the deformable distal portion from the initial configuration toward the deformed configuration
Data Source
AI summary
Instrumentation and method for treatment of a spinal structure, comprising an elongate member including a deformable distal portion having an initial configuration for placement within the spinal structure and a deformed configuration wherein the distal portion is outwardly deformed to form a cavity in the spinal structure. The elongate member comprises a cannula member and an actuator member that is removably positioned within the cannula member and configured to transition the deformable distal portion from the initial configuration toward the deformed configuration. The actuator member is selectively removed from the cannula member to provide a passageway for delivery of a material into the cavity formed in the spinal structure.