Offset Rod Connector Placement for Minimally Invasive Spinal Fixation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional percutaneous spinal fixation methods lack the ability to incorporate cross-links or domino connectors, compromising construct stability and durability, especially in highly unstable spine fractures, thereby undermining the benefits of minimally invasive surgery.
Innovation Solution
The development of offset rod connector devices and systems that allow for minimally invasive, percutaneous insertion and placement of offset rod connectors, featuring a main body and tulip configuration with locking mechanisms, enabling connection of multiple spinal rods at desired angles without requiring additional incisions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional direct insertion method is used for rod connectors, then the connector can be installed, but it requires additional incisions and violates minimally invasive surgery principles
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of inserting the connector directly through the incision site, the invention introduces the connector through the rod itself using a delivery system that passes through the existing percutaneous access corridor. The connector is loaded into a delivery device and advanced through the rod to the target location, reversing the traditional insertion approach and maintaining minimally invasive benefits
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs a delivery system as an intermediary device that facilitates connector placement through the existing percutaneous access. The delivery system includes a delivery device that holds the connector and advances it through the rod to the target site, acting as a mediator between the external surgeon's access and the internal connector placement without requiring additional incisions
2Object-affected harmful factors
If percutaneous fixation is used, then surgical trauma is reduced and recovery is accelerated, but the ability to place cross-links or domino connectors is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The invention enables connector placement in a new dimension by utilizing the existing percutaneous access corridor and the rod structure itself as a pathway. Instead of requiring direct lateral access to the connector site, the system delivers the connector through the longitudinal axis of the rod, adding a dimensional approach to connector placement that maintains minimally invasive benefits while restoring versatility
3Stability of the object's composition
If additional incisions are made to place connectors, then construct stability is improved, but surgical invasiveness increases and minimally invasive benefits are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The invention makes the existing percutaneous access corridor multi-functional by using it for both screw placement and connector delivery. The same access pathway that was created for minimally invasive screw insertion is now utilized to deliver connectors, eliminating the need for additional incisions while maintaining construct stability through proper connector placement
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are rod connector systems, kits and methods that include a main body defining a first side opening configured for insertion of a primary rod therein, and a tulip defining a second side opening configured for insertion of a secondary rod therein, the tulip being inserted into a top opening in the main body and attached to the main body above the main body, in which the main body includes a locking mechanism for retaining the primary rod at a desired position therein, and the tulip includes a locking cap for maintaining the secondary rod at a desired position therein.