Intervertebral Implant Flange Gaps Bone Growth

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current vertebral implants lack effective designs for facilitating bone growth and stabilization between vertebral members, leading to inadequate fusion and potential instability in damaged spinal regions.

Innovation Solution

The design includes a central web with outwardly-extending flanges forming gaps that extend the height of the implant, with interior spaces to hold bone growth material, and features like variable widths and shapes to distribute stress and enhance integration with vertebral members, along with a cover to secure the bone growth material.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If a solid implant body is used to provide structural support, then mechanical strength is improved, but bone growth and integration are hindered

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemechanical strengthVSAvoidbone growth and integration

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The implant body incorporates a porous structure with interconnected pores throughout the material matrix, allowing bone ingrowth while maintaining mechanical strength. The porous architecture provides pathways for osteoblast migration and bone tissue formation, resolving the contradiction between structural support and bone integration.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #31Porous materials

Solution Approach 2:

The implant utilizes composite materials combining metal alloys with bone-conductive ceramics or biodegradable polymers. This composite structure provides both the mechanical strength needed for load-bearing and the osteoconductivity required for bone growth, simultaneously addressing both requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

2Manufacturing precision

If a tight-fitting implant design is used to ensure stability, then positioning accuracy is improved, but stress concentrations increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepositioning accuracyVSAvoidstress concentrations

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSStress or pressure

Solution Approach 1:

The implant surface features localized variations in roughness, porosity, and compliance across different regions. Areas of higher compliance are positioned at stress concentration zones to distribute loads, while rigid regions maintain positioning accuracy. This spatially varying local quality resolves the contradiction between tight fit and stress distribution.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If bone growth material is added to promote fusion, then bone integration is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebone integrationVSAvoiddevice complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The bone growth material is integrated directly into the implant structure during manufacturing, creating a monolithic component rather than separate assemblies. The osteoinductive factors are incorporated into the implant matrix or surface coating, eliminating the need for separate bone graft containers or attachment mechanisms, thus reducing overall device complexity while maintaining bone integration benefits.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUSRE48058E1Intervertebral implant

Publication Date: 2020.06.23 WARSAW ORTHOPEDIC INC

AI summary

Implants for positioning between vertebral members. The implant may include a superior surface to contact against a first vertebral member, and an inferior surface to contact against a second vertebral member. The implant may include a central web that extends between first and second flanges. The flanges may be shaped to form gaps that extend the height of the implant. Spaces in communication with the gaps may be formed in an interior of the implant to hold bone growth material.