Expandable Intervertebral Disc Implant with Telescoping Arms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current intervertebral disc replacement implants face challenges in accommodating varying disc space heights and shapes due to biological variability or pathologic changes, leading to issues such as excessive retraction of blood vessels or neural elements during implantation, which can result in complications like vascular tears or neural damage.
Innovation Solution
An expandable intervertebral total disc replacement implant with an inferior and superior component, each having a core and arms telescopingly engaged, and an expansion mechanism that allows for axial and radial displacement, enabling customizable fitting within the disc space through minimally invasive techniques, preserving ligaments and optimizing stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed-size implant is used, then the implantation process is simple, but the implant cannot accommodate varying disc space heights and shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The implant incorporates an expandable structure with multiple arms that can be radially displaced from a collapsed to an expanded state. This dynamic configuration allows the implant to adapt to different disc space dimensions while maintaining a compact form for minimally invasive insertion, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The implant arms are designed to telescope within each other in the collapsed state, similar to nested dolls. This nesting arrangement minimizes the implant profile during insertion while allowing full expansion to the required size within the disc space, enabling adaptability without proportionally increasing device complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a large implant is used to accommodate all disc spaces, then adaptability is improved, but excessive retraction of blood vessels or neural elements occurs during implantation
Solution Approach 1:
The implant transitions from a compact collapsed state for insertion to an expanded state within the disc space. This dynamic size adjustment allows the implant to be small during implantation (minimizing retraction of neural elements and blood vessels) and large within the disc space (providing adequate support and adaptability).
Solution Approach 2:
The implant is divided into multiple separable arms that can be independently positioned and adjusted. This segmentation allows the implant to be inserted in a compact form and then expanded to the specific size required for each patient's disc space, avoiding the need to use a one-size-fits-all large implant that would cause excessive retraction during insertion.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If minimally invasive techniques are used, then tissue damage is reduced, but precise adjustment and expansion within the disc space becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The implant is pre-configured with telescoping arms that are ready to expand upon insertion. The arms are designed to automatically or easily transition from the collapsed to expanded state once positioned within the disc space, eliminating the need for complex intraoperative manipulation and making the expansion process straightforward even through minimally invasive approaches.
Data Source
AI summary
An expandable intervertebral total disc replacement implant, including an inferior component, including a first core including a first outer surface and a first inner surface, and a first plurality of arms telescopingly engaged with the first core, a superior component, including a second core including a second outer surface and a second inner surface, and a second plurality of arms telescopingly engaged with the second core, and an expansion mechanism connected to the first inner surface and the second inner surface, the expansion mechanism operatively arranged to displace the superior component with respect to the inferior component.