Pedicle Screw Guide Tool Alignment for Connector-Compatible Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing spinal anchoring systems face challenges in accurately positioning pedicle screws during surgery, leading to misplacement, inability to connect screws correctly, and potential damage to connectors, which can result in tissue damage and suboptimal spinal correction.
Innovation Solution
A spinal anchoring element system featuring a guide tool with a radiolucent design that aligns a screw-path forming instrument for precise screw placement, allowing for the use of radiography to ensure optimal positioning and orientation, and includes a connector with a ratchet mechanism for controlled movement between pedicle screws.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a connector is used to link pedicle screws, then controlled movement between screws is achieved, but the connector may become scratched or damaged during surgery
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into separate functional components: a guide tool for positioning and a connector for linking screws. The guide tool can be attached to the pedicle screw and used to guide the screw-path forming instrument, then removed before final connector installation, preventing the connector from being exposed to damaging operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide tool acts as an intermediary between the pedicle screw and the screw-path forming instrument. It provides the guiding function during surgery without requiring the final connector to be present, thereby protecting the connector from damage while enabling precise positioning.
2Adaptability or versatility
If pedicle screws are installed in limited positions to ensure connector compatibility, then connector connection is achieved, but screw placement flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The guide tool is attached to the pedicle screw before the screw is fully installed and before the connector is attached. This preliminary positioning step allows the surgeon to establish optimal screw placement without worrying about connector compatibility constraints, as the guide tool (not the final connector) is present during positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a static connector-present-during-positioning approach to a dynamic sequence where the guide tool is used temporarily for positioning, then removed and replaced with the final connector. This dynamic approach enables both flexible positioning and reliable final connection.
3Measurement precision
If a radiolucent guide tool is used, then radiography can be used to ensure optimal positioning, but the guide tool structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The guide tool is made radiolucent (transparent to X-rays), allowing radiographic imaging to visualize the screw path and positioning without the guide tool itself obscuring the view. This material property change enables precise measurement while maintaining a relatively simple guide tool structure.
Data Source
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AI summary
It is known to use pedicle screws and connectors to treat deformities in a spinal column. However, there are cases when screws must be installed in certain positions relative to each other as otherwise the connector may not fit correctly between them. A spinal anchoring element system is therefore provided, comprising a guide tool 60 for aligning a screw-path forming instrument 90 for use in forming a screw-path in a vertebra 10 for the subsequent installation of a pedicle screw 20, the guide tool comprising a guide tool stem 80 and a screw-path forming instrument receiving section 70, the guide tool stem and the screw-path forming instrument receiving section being immovable relative to one another.