Expandable Segmented Bone Structural Device for Spinal Stabilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing implantable devices for spinal stabilization and bone support face challenges such as difficulty in construction and insertion, bulkiness, inadequate surface coverage, and the need for multiple sizes, limiting their effectiveness in spinal fusion and vertebral compression fracture repair.
Innovation Solution
The development of expandable implantable devices that can be used as cages or disc replacement devices, featuring a series of interconnected segments that can be deployed minimally invasively through a single portal, allowing for height control and ample surface coverage, using various materials like metals, polymers, and bone substitutes, and can be filled with bone graft or cement for fusion or dynamic applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional implantable devices are used for spinal stabilization, then spinal support function is provided, but difficulty of construction and insertion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The implantable device is divided into multiple interconnected segments that can be collapsed into a compact configuration for insertion through a single portal, then expanded in situ to provide spinal support. This segmentation allows the device to be manufactured in a compact form that is easier to insert while maintaining the structural integrity needed for spinal stabilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates expandable structures that transition from a collapsed state during insertion to an expanded state after placement. This dynamic transformation allows the same device to satisfy both the compact insertion requirement and the structural support requirement, eliminating the need for multiple device sizes and simplifying the insertion procedure.
2Reliability
If traditional implantable devices are used, then spinal stabilization is achieved, but bulkiness and inadequate surface coverage occur
Solution Approach 1:
The device utilizes dimensional transformation by collapsing the structure along one dimension for insertion, then expanding in multiple dimensions (height, width, and surface area) after placement. This allows the device to pass through a small portal while providing ample surface coverage and height control for spinal stabilization, effectively adding dimensional flexibility to overcome the contradiction.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple device sizes are used to accommodate different spinal conditions, then adaptability improves, but device complexity and inventory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device is designed as a universal platform with adjustable parameters including expandability in multiple directions, variable segmentation configurations, and adaptable material compositions. This single device design can be configured to meet different spinal stabilization needs through adjustment of expansion degree, segment arrangement, and material selection, eliminating the need for multiple pre-sized devices and simplifying inventory requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A bone structural device including a plurality of bone structural segments, wherein adjacent bone structural segments are pivotally connected to one another about a pivot axis, and the bone structural segments are expandable in height, which is in a direction generally parallel to the pivot axis.