Expandable Articulating Intervertebral Cages for Narrow-Access Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current intervertebral cages face challenges in navigating narrow access pathways due to limited working space and accommodating angular relationships between vertebral bodies, leading to improper fit and potential dislodgment or migration.
Innovation Solution
Expandable and angularly adjustable intervertebral cages with articulating mechanisms that allow for size and angle adjustment, manufactured using additive manufacturing techniques, eliminating connection seams and requiring no external fixation, and featuring customizable engineered cellular structures for improved stability and fusion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the cage is made with a larger size to restore disc height and stabilize the spine, then the structural integrity and stabilization effect are improved, but the difficulty of insertion through narrow access pathways increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cage is divided into multiple segments or components that can be collapsed or folded together to reduce the overall size for insertion, then separated or expanded to the full size for stabilization. This segmentation allows the cage to pass through narrow access pathways while maintaining the required structural integrity for disc height restoration and spinal stabilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The cage components are designed to nest within each other during insertion, similar to nested dolls. The smaller components fit inside larger ones, creating a compact configuration that can navigate narrow access pathways. Once positioned, the components are deployed outward to achieve the full cage size needed for structural support and stabilization.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the cage is designed to accommodate larger lordotic angles, then the adaptability to angular relationships between vertebral bodies is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cage incorporates dynamic articulating mechanisms that allow it to adjust its angle and configuration to match the natural lordotic curvature of the spine. These mechanisms enable the cage to adapt to varying angular relationships between vertebral bodies while maintaining structural stability. The dynamic adjustment capability is achieved through movable joints or flexible connections that permit angular variation without requiring multiple fixed-angle cage designs.
3Ease of operation
If the cage is inserted in a reduced size to navigate narrow access pathways, then the ease of insertion is improved, but the ability to maintain disc height and restore sagittal balance may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The cage is prepared in a reduced, collapsed configuration before insertion to facilitate passage through narrow access pathways. Once the cage is properly positioned within the intervertebral space, it is expanded or deployed to its full size, ensuring that the disc height restoration and sagittal balance functions are achieved with the complete structural capacity of the cage.
Data Source
AI summary
The embodiments provide various interbody fusion spacers, or cages, for insertion between adjacent vertebrae. The cages may contain an articulating mechanism to allow expansion and angular adjustment, and enable upper and lower plate components to glide smoothly relative to one another. The cages may have a first, insertion configuration characterized by a reduced size at each of their insertion ends to facilitate insertion through a narrow access passage and into the intervertebral space. In their second, expanded configuration, the cages are able to maintain the proper disc height and stabilize the spine by restoring sagittal balance and alignment. The intervertebral cages are able to adjust the angle of lordosis, and can accommodate larger lodortic angles in their second, expanded configuration. Further, these cages may promote fusion to further enhance spine stability by immobilizing the adjacent vertebral bodies.