Navigated Percutaneous Facet Joint Fusion System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional minimally invasive lumbar and thoracic fusion techniques face challenges in accessing the disk space, which is deep within the body, making it risky and difficult, and often require navigating past neural elements or extensive muscle stripping, leading to increased surgical trauma.
Innovation Solution
A percutaneous or open facet joint fusion system that uses an imaging system to identify a docking location on a facet joint between vertebrae, with a cannula and rotary tool to create a void for bone graft or bone growth promoting material, allowing for fusion without accessing the disk space, thereby minimizing surgical trauma and risk.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional minimally invasive techniques are used to access disk space, then surgical trauma is reduced compared to open surgery, but the procedure becomes risky and difficult due to deep anatomical location and proximity to neural elements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the fusion procedure from the disk space approach and relocates it to the facet joint approach. By removing the need to access the deep disk space and instead performing fusion at the more accessible facet joint location, the procedure eliminates the risks associated with navigating past neural elements while maintaining the minimally invasive benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of accessing the disk space from the posterior approach and then working anteriorly, the patent inverts the approach by accessing the facet joint from the posterior and performing the fusion procedure at that location. This reversal of the traditional surgical pathway eliminates the need to navigate through dangerous anatomical regions.
2Ease of operation
If conventional open surgical approach is used, then access to disk space is achieved, but extensive muscle stripping and surgical trauma occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the fusion procedure from the disk space and relocates it to the facet joint. This extraction eliminates the need for extensive muscle stripping required to access the disk space in conventional open surgery, while still achieving the therapeutic goal of spinal fusion.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If percutaneous approach is used to minimize incisions, then surgical trauma is reduced, but accessing deep disk space remains risky and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the procedure from the deep disk space location and relocates it to the facet joint, which is more superficial and accessible. This extraction maintains the benefits of percutaneous minimally invasive techniques while eliminating the difficulties of accessing deep anatomical structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the facet joint as an intermediary site for performing the fusion procedure. Instead of directly accessing the deep disk space, the surgeon performs the fusion at the facet joint, which serves as a more accessible intermediary location that achieves the same therapeutic effect.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for facet joint fusion includes a cannula having a body and a navigation arm mounted to the body. The navigation arm includes a base and a plurality of individual arms mounted to the base. The navigation arm also includes one or more markers mounted to the plurality of individual arms. The system also includes an imaging system configured to identify a position of the one or more markers relative to a facet joint of a patient. The system further includes a rotary tool that is configured to mount within the cannula. The rotary tool is configured to create a void in the facet joint by way of the cannula, and the void is configured to receive a bone graft or bone growth promoting material.