Flexible Arm Intervertebral Implant Frame for Allograft Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional intervertebral implants with frames designed for PEEK spacers can be unsuitable for allograft spacers, which may vary in shape and degrade or resorb over time, leading to instability and discomfort due to their profile extending beyond the vertebral bodies.
Innovation Solution
An intervertebral implant system comprising a cortical spacer body and a cancellous spacer body, with a frame that includes a support member and flexible arms to securely engage the spacers, allowing for bone growth and stability without the need for additional stabilization features, and an expansion instrument to facilitate the insertion and retention of the spacer within the frame.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional frame designed for PEEK spacers is used, then the frame can provide structural support, but it cannot adapt to allograft spacers that vary in shape and may degrade over time
Solution Approach 1:
The frame incorporates flexible arms that can dynamically adjust their position and configuration to accommodate different spacer geometries. The arms are designed with inherent flexibility allowing them to conform to varying shapes of allograft spacers while maintaining secure engagement throughout the healing process
Solution Approach 2:
The frame design achieves universality by combining a support member with multiple flexible arms that can engage various spacer types including PEEK and allograft materials. The same frame structure can adapt to different spacer geometries and materials, providing a multi-functional solution that eliminates the need for multiple specialized frames
2Reliability
If the implant profile extends beyond the vertebral bodies to provide stability, then structural support is improved, but patient discomfort and dysphasia occur
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful external profile is extracted from the implant design. The frame is configured to remain substantially contained within the intervertebral space, with flexible arms that engage the spacer without extending beyond the vertebral bodies. This removes the source of patient discomfort and dysphasia while preserving stabilizing function through internal arm configuration
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible arms function as thin, adaptable structures that provide structural engagement without adding external bulk. These flexible components can conform to the spacer geometry and provide stability through internal positioning rather than external extension, eliminating the harmful profile effect
3Adaptability or versatility
If allograft spacers are used to promote bone growth, then biocompatibility is improved, but the spacers may vary in shape and degrade over time causing instability
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible arms dynamically adapt to the varying shapes of allograft spacers throughout the degradation process. As the allograft changes shape over time, the flexible arms continuously conform to maintain engagement, providing ongoing stability despite the changing geometry of the biocompatible spacer material
Data Source
AI summary
An intervertebral implant frame that is configured to engage a spacer can include a pair of arms that extend longitudinally from a support member such that the arms engage the spacer. The spacer can be made from bone graft, and include a first spacer body made of cortical bone, and a second spacer body made of cancellous bone.