Expandable Interbody Implants for Disc Height Restoration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing intervertebral fusion devices face challenges in achieving precise placement and restoring disc height due to issues with surgical access and alignment, often leading to iatrogenic pathologies and inadequate disc spacing maintenance.
Innovation Solution
An expandable fusion device that can be inserted at a collapsed height and axially expanded to restore disc height, featuring an adjustable orientation and internal lock mechanism for precise placement, allowing insertion from multiple approaches without fixed insertion features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a solid bone implant or fixed-approach fusion device is used, then precise placement can be achieved, but the device complexity increases and surgical flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The fusion device incorporates expandable elements that allow dynamic adjustment of the implant configuration after insertion. The device transitions from a collapsed insertion state to an expanded functional state, enabling precise placement through expansion while maintaining surgical flexibility through adjustable components.
Solution Approach 2:
The fusion device is divided into multiple expandable segments or elements that can be inserted in a collapsed state and then expanded individually or collectively. This segmentation allows for precise placement control while reducing the complexity of requiring multiple fixed-approach implants.
2Measurement precision
If multiple implants with fixed approach-specific insertion features are used, then precise placement for specific approaches is achieved, but the quantity of implants increases and surgical flexibility decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The fusion device is designed with universal features that enable it to be inserted through multiple surgical approaches using a single implant type. The adjustable and expandable components allow the same device to accommodate different insertion trajectories and approaches, eliminating the need for multiple approach-specific implants.
3Reliability
If the intervertebral disc is partially or fully removed to fuse vertebral bodies, then fusion is achieved, but disc height restoration becomes difficult and spinal stability is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The fusion device utilizes expandable elements that can change their dimensional parameters (height, width, or volume) after insertion. The device is inserted in a collapsed state and then expanded to restore disc height, maintaining both fusion reliability and spinal stability through controlled expansion.
Data Source
AI summary
Expandable fusion devices, systems, instruments, and methods thereof. The expandable fusion implant may include an upper endplate and a lower endplate configured to engage adjacent vertebrae, an expansion gear configured to adjust a height of the upper endplate, a locking collar configured to attach to an inserter instrument at multiple orientations for a desired surgical approach, and an actuation ram configured to lock, unlock, or change insertion orientation of the locking collar. The expandable fusion device is attachable to the inserter instrument to reorient the locking collar and expand the upper endplate.