Spinal Facet Fusion Implant with Stabilizing Fin
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spinal facet fusion methods, such as the Stein approach, fail to adequately restrict facet motion and suffer from plug failure and migration, leading to instability and pain in patients with spinal instability or osteoarthritis.
Innovation Solution
A novel spinal facet fusion implant with an elongated body and stabilizers that fit snugly between the facet surfaces, providing stability and preventing rotation, while its unique shape and design prevent migration and ensure fusion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conical plug is used to fuse spinal facets, then the procedure is minimally invasive, but the plug fails to adequately restrict facet motion and suffers from migration
Solution Approach 1:
The implant is divided into distinct functional segments: a conical body for minimally invasive insertion and a separate stabilizing fin that extends into the facet joint space. This segmentation allows the implant to provide both ease of insertion and reliable motion restriction through its multi-component structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilizing fin extends in a new dimension perpendicular to the main implant axis, projecting into the facet joint space to prevent lateral migration and rotation. This dimensional extension transforms the implant from a simple plug into a multi-directional constraint device that addresses motion restriction in multiple planes.
2Ease of manufacture
If the implant has a simple conical shape, then manufacturing is easy, but the implant migrates and fails due to inadequate stabilization
Solution Approach 1:
The implant comprises a conical body segment that is easy to manufacture and insert, combined with a stabilizing fin segment that provides mechanical interlocking. This segmentation maintains manufacturing simplicity for the main body while adding a specialized stabilization component that prevents migration.
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilizing fin creates an asymmetric geometry that provides directional stability within the facet joint. The fin's orientation and shape are specifically designed to engage with the joint space asymmetrically, preventing rotation and migration in critical directions while maintaining ease of manufacture for the symmetric conical body.
Data Source
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AI summary
A spinal facet fusion implant includes an elongated main body having a distal end, a proximal end and a longitudinal axis extending between the distal end and the proximal end. The main body has a cross-sectional profile characterized by a primary axis and a secondary axis. At least one stabilizer extends radially outwardly from the main body in the secondary axis. The main body has a length along the primary axis that is less than the combined width of the spinal facets making up a facet joint. The stabilizer has a width that is sized to make a press fit into the gap between the spinal facets making up a facet joint.