Expandable Intervertebral Implant Linear Angular Adjustment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current intervertebral implants face challenges such as requiring precise pre-operative sizing, necessitating intraoperative adjustments, and limiting natural spinal motion, which can lead to complications like adjacent segment disease.
Innovation Solution
The development of an expandable intervertebral implant system that includes a superior plate, an inferior plate, and a mechanism for both linear and angular expansion, allowing for adjustable sizing intraoperatively to match individual patient anatomy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If fixed-size intervertebral implants are used, then manufacturing and inventory management are simplified, but precise pre-operative sizing is required and intraoperative adjustments are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The implant incorporates expandable elements that allow the device to change its dimensions dynamically from a compressed delivery state to an expanded functional state. The expansion mechanism includes movable plates, wedges, or scissor-like structures that enable the implant to adapt to different disc space heights intraoperatively, resolving the contradiction between fixed structure and variable size requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The implant is divided into multiple expandable segments or modular components that can be adjusted independently. This segmentation allows the device to be delivered in a compact form and then expanded to match the specific anatomical requirements of each patient's disc space, providing versatility without requiring complex custom-manufactured implants for each size.
2Adaptability or versatility
If expandable mechanisms are added to intervertebral implants, then adaptability to varying disc spaces is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The expansion components are nested within each other in a compact configuration during delivery. The implant contains movable plates, wedges, or scissor mechanisms that are stored in a compressed state within the implant body, allowing the complex expansion mechanism to be delivered through standard surgical approaches without requiring excessive space or complexity in the delivery system.
Solution Approach 2:
The expansion mechanism is designed to be actuated by simple external forces applied during surgery, such as pushing, pulling, or rotating external tools that engage with the implant. The mechanical advantage is built into the expansion structure itself, allowing the surgeon to expand the implant with minimal effort and without requiring complex actuation systems or multiple components.
3Ease of operation
If precise pre-operative sizing is required, then implant inventory can be managed efficiently, but surgical flexibility and ability to match individual patient anatomy are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The implant is pre-configured with an expansion mechanism that has been tested and validated for reliability, but the final sizing and configuration are determined intraoperatively based on actual anatomical measurements. This allows the surgeon to make precise adjustments during surgery without requiring extensive pre-operative calculations or custom manufacturing, balancing surgical flexibility with efficient workflow.
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, an expandable intervertebral implant may include a superior plate configured to engage a superior vertebra, an inferior plate configured to engage an inferior vertebra, wherein the inferior plate is spaced apart from the superior plate by a gap, one or more first sliders moveable along a first direction to urge linear expansion of the gap, and one or more second sliders moveable along a second direction, nonparallel to the first direction, to urge angular expansion of the gap.