Multi-cap Removing Instrument for Spinal Surgery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spinal surgery techniques require external extender instruments for rod reduction, which can be cumbersome, costly, and increase the risk of misassembly and tissue damage during minimally invasive procedures.
Innovation Solution
The development of monolithic percutaneous-screw systems with intrinsic breakoff sections and a multiple-cap removing-and-holding instrument that allows for robust rod reduction without external extenders, facilitating easier handling and safer procedures by enabling the system to break down internally and hold multiple caps for efficient spinal construct formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If external extender instruments are used for rod reduction, then rod reduction can be achieved, but the procedure becomes cumbersome, costly, and increases the risk of misassembly and tissue damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the rod reduction function from external extender instruments and relocates it to an intrinsic breakoff section of the pedicle screw system. The breakoff section is designed to fracture and release the rod internally, eliminating the need for external extenders and their associated risks of misassembly and tissue damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The pedicle screw system performs its own rod reduction function through the intrinsic breakoff section that is designed to fracture at a predetermined location. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for separate external extender instruments, simplifying the procedure and reducing complexity while maintaining reliability.
2Productivity
If multiple caps are removed during surgery, then cap management is needed, but using separate instruments for each cap increases procedure time and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the function of removing and holding multiple caps into a single integrated instrument. This multi-cap instrument can capture, hold, and deliver multiple caps sequentially, eliminating the need for separate instruments for each cap and thereby reducing procedure time and instrument management complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-cap instrument serves multiple functions: it can remove caps from different pedicle screws, hold them temporarily, and deliver them to their final positions. This universal instrument replaces what would otherwise require multiple specialized instruments, improving productivity without significantly increasing complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A multiple-cap-remover for removing and holding spinal-implant guide caps, including a chamber component and a plunger movable disposed within the chamber. The chamber component has a chamber wall extending to an open end, and a cap-retaining component extending radially inward from an inner surface of the chamber at or adjacent the distal end. The distal opening is sized and shaped to allow the guide caps to pass through the opening and into the chamber component. The chamber component is sized and shaped to receive, one at a time, and hold simultaneously, multiple caps removed from respective spinal-implant assemblies using the instrument. The instrument may further have a sliding component connected movably to a body and connected to the plunger such that, when moved distally, it moves the plunger to push the caps captured beyond the cap-retaining component and out of the chamber component via the opening.