Expandable Intervertebral Implant Wedge Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spinal fusion techniques require invasive procedures and do not effectively minimize damage to spinal vasculature and neural elements, while also lacking optimal stabilization and space creation for bone growth in intervertebral fusion.
Innovation Solution
An expandable intervertebral implant with movable bone contacting surfaces and wedge members that translate along a longitudinal direction to separate and expand, providing a stable and optimal environment for spinal fusion by minimizing invasiveness and promoting bone growth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional spinal fusion techniques are used, then spinal segment stabilization is achieved, but procedural invasiveness increases and damage to spinal vasculature and neural elements occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The implant is divided into multiple expandable segments or cells that can be collapsed for insertion and then expanded to create the desired disc height and stabilization. This segmentation allows the implant to be introduced minimally invasively while achieving the required spinal segment stabilization when expanded in situ.
Solution Approach 2:
The implant transitions from a collapsed state during insertion to an expanded state for stabilization, representing a dynamic transformation. This dynamic capability allows the device to minimize invasiveness during delivery while providing stable bone growth environment after deployment.
2Reliability
If traditional spacer devices are impacted into the disc space, then bone growth is allowed through the device, but procedural invasiveness remains high
Solution Approach 1:
The implant comprises multiple expandable segments that can be collapsed into a compact form for minimally invasive insertion, then expanded to create optimal bone growth environment. This segmentation enables low-invasiveness delivery while maintaining the spacer function for bone growth.
Solution Approach 2:
The collapsed implant segments are nested within each other during insertion, allowing the device to be introduced through a small incision or puncture. After insertion, the segments are expanded outward to create the desired disc height and bone growth environment, effectively nesting the insertion path while expanding the functional space.
3Ease of operation
If the implant is designed to be expandable from collapsed to expanded configuration, then procedural invasiveness is minimized, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The implant is segmented into multiple identical or similar expandable units that can be collapsed and nested for easy insertion, then expanded independently or simultaneously. This segmentation simplifies the overall mechanism by using repetitive modular units rather than a single complex expandable structure.
Solution Approach 2:
A dynamic expansion mechanism is incorporated that allows the implant to transition from collapsed to expanded state through a simple actuation process. This dynamic design, while adding some complexity, enables minimally invasive delivery while providing the necessary structural expansion for bone growth and stabilization.
Data Source
AI summary
An implant includes a first plate and a second plate, a first wedge member and a second wedge member spaced from the first wedge member that couple the first and second plates together. The first and second wedge members configured to translate along the first and second plates from a first contracted configuration into a second expanded configuration. The implant includes an actuation member coupled to the first wedge member and the second wedge member. The actuating member defines a flange extending toward the first and second plates. The actuation member configured to move the first and second wedge members from the first contracted configuration into the second expanded configuration so that the first and second plates separate from each other.