Lateral Interbody Fusion Guide with Alignment Members
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spinal fusion techniques often require direct visualization and involve traversing spaces occupied by neural elements, leading to increased risk of complications due to contact and retraction of sensitive nerve roots and visceral organs, necessitating improved approaches for accessing intervertebral spaces.
Innovation Solution
A method involving positioning upper and lower endplates within the intervertebral space, securing alignment members to each endplate, and advancing an implant between these members using a guiding assembly, which can include a rail system and engagement features like teeth or spikes to secure the implant in place, minimizing contact with sensitive structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional fusion approaches with direct visualization are used, then surgical precision and control are improved, but the risk of damage to neural elements and visceral organs increases due to contact and retraction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a guide member as an intermediary tool that provides a protected pathway for implant delivery. The guide member allows the surgeon to advance the implant to the target intervertebral space without directly contacting or retracting neural elements and visceral organs, thus maintaining surgical precision while reducing the risk of damage to sensitive structures
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical retraction of neural elements with a guide member-based delivery system. Instead of manually retracting nerves and organs to access the disc space, the system uses a pre-positioned guide member that channels the implant delivery, substituting the harmful mechanical retraction action with a protected guided pathway
2Object-affected harmful factors
If percutaneous approaches with fluoroscopic guidance are used, then morbidity is reduced and minimally invasive access is achieved, but the reliability of implant placement decreases due to reliance on radiographic landmarks without direct view
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member serves as a physical intermediary that bridges the gap between fluoroscopic guidance and precise implant placement. The guide member is positioned using imaging guidance and then provides a tactile and visual rail system that ensures accurate implant delivery to the target site, combining the benefits of minimally invasive access with reliable placement
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of visual feedback from indirect radiographic landmarks to direct visual confirmation through the guide member's alignment features and the surgeon's direct line of sight along the delivery pathway, thereby maintaining minimally invasive access while improving placement reliability
3Manufacturing precision
If alignment members with engagement features are used, then implant positioning precision is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional components like rail systems and engagement features
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member is designed as a multi-functional component that combines alignment, guidance, and engagement features in a single integrated structure. The rail system provides both alignment during positioning and guidance during implant delivery, while engagement features secure the guide member to the vertebral body. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components, thereby managing device complexity while achieving precise implant positioning
Data Source
AI summary
According to some embodiments, a method of inserting a lateral implant within an intervertebral space defined between an upper vertebral member and a lower vertebral member includes creating a lateral passage through a subject in order to provide minimally invasive access to the intervertebral space, at least partially clearing out native tissue of the subject within and/or near the intervertebral space, positioning a base plate within the intervertebral space, wherein the base plate comprise an upper base plate and a lower base plate and advancing an implant between the upper base plate and the lower base plate so that the implant is urged into the intervertebral space and the upper vertebral member is distracted relative to the lower vertebral member.