Intervertebral Implant Frame with Flexible Arms for Spacer Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current intervertebral implants face challenges with stability in flexion and extension due to the lack of positive locking to vertebral bodies, and allograft spacer bodies may vary in shape and degrade over time, leading to discomfort and inefficiencies in bone fusion.
Innovation Solution
An intervertebral implant frame with a support member, flexible arms, and tabs that securely retain a spacer body, providing stability and retention through fixation elements and expansion mechanisms to ensure proper alignment and fusion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a threaded device is used to provide graft retention, then graft stability is improved, but stability in flexion and extension deteriorates because the device does not positively lock to the vertebral bodies
Solution Approach 1:
The implant is divided into separate functional components: a threaded body for graft retention and separate fixation elements (screws or hooks) for positive locking to vertebral bodies. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function optimally without compromise.
Solution Approach 2:
The implant frame acts as an intermediary structure that connects the threaded graft-retaining body to the vertebral bodies through fixation elements. This intermediary provides the positive locking mechanism needed for stability in flexion and extension while maintaining graft retention capability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If allograft spacer bodies are used to accommodate varying shapes, then adaptability is improved, but reliability deteriorates because they may degrade or resorb over time
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the biological spacer body (allograft) from the structural support function, which is provided by the synthetic implant frame. This allows the allograft to be customized for shape compatibility while the frame provides reliable long-term structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The implant frame serves as an intermediary structural support that compensates for the limitations of allograft materials. The frame maintains mechanical stability while the allograft provides bone growth substrate, separating the conflicting requirements of adaptability and long-term reliability.
3Reliability
If a plate is used to provide stability during healing, then healing stability is improved, but patient comfort deteriorates due to dysphasia caused by the plate profile
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful anterior plate is extracted from the system and replaced with a zero-profile design where the implant sits flush with or recessed from the vertebral body surfaces. This eliminates the source of dysphasia while maintaining stabilization function through the fixation elements.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of placing a protruding plate on the anterior aspect to provide stability, the design inverts the approach by using posterior or lateral fixation elements that maintain stability without creating an anterior profile that causes dysphasia.
Data Source
AI summary
An intervertebral implant frame that is configured to be attached to a spacer body can include a pair of arms that extend longitudinally from a support member such that the arms extend substantially around the spacer body. The arms may be configured to expand, crimp, or otherwise engage the spacer body to thereby hold the spacer body to the frame. The spacer body may be made from bone graft.