Expandable Intervertebral Fixation Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vertebral fixation and fusion devices require additional hardware and tissue disruption for insertion and deployment, leading to increased complexity and risk, especially when attempting to minimize motion between fused vertebrae without the need for additional hardware or overlapping vertebrae.
Innovation Solution
A compact, expandable device that can be inserted into the intervertebral space in a smaller configuration and transformed into a larger one to occupy the space, reducing tissue disruption and providing improved anchoring and structural stability for bone healing and fusion, utilizing a guidewire for deployment and featuring a cannulated design with ramps and locking mechanisms for expansion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a compact, expandable device is inserted into the intervertebral space, then tissue disruption is reduced and anchoring is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into multiple expandable elements or struts that can be independently deployed within the intervertebral space. These segmented components allow the device to transition from a compact insertion configuration to an expanded anchoring configuration, reducing tissue disruption while maintaining structural complexity only where necessary for deployment
Solution Approach 2:
The device employs a nested configuration where expandable elements are contained within a delivery catheter or guide wire during insertion. The compact form factor allows the device to be delivered through a small incision and then expanded within the larger intervertebral space, achieving minimal tissue disruption without requiring complex external hardware
2Stability of the object's composition
If additional hardware is used to attach to vertebrae, then fixation stability is improved, but device complexity and surgical risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the fixation function from separate hardware components and integrates it directly into the device structure. The expandable elements provide anchoring capability inherent to the device itself, eliminating the need for separate screws, rods, or other fixation hardware that would increase complexity and surgical risk
Solution Approach 2:
The device performs multiple functions within a single structure: it provides structural support, creates anchoring points within the vertebrae, and facilitates bone fusion. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate fixation hardware while maintaining stability, as the same expandable structure that provides mechanical support also creates the anchoring mechanism
3Ease of operation
If the device is inserted at a smaller dimension, then ease of insertion is improved, but the deployed dimension must be larger to occupy the intervertebral space
Solution Approach 1:
The device transitions from a static compact form during insertion to a dynamic expanded form within the intervertebral space. The expandable elements can be deployed using controlled mechanical forces, allowing the device to adapt its volume from a small insertion profile to a larger functional profile that occupies the necessary space for stability and fusion
Data Source
AI summary
An implantable orthopedic stability device is disclosed. The device can have a contracted and an expanded configuration. A method of using the device between adjacent vertebral body surfaces for support and/or fixation of either or both of the adjacent vertebrae is also disclosed.