Pivoting Cap Rod Construct for Minimally Invasive Spinal Implant Insertion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current minimally invasive spinal osteosynthesis techniques face challenges in reliably and efficiently inserting and securing fixation rods between implants through smaller incisions, leading to a steep learning curve and tissue disturbance due to limited visualization and complex manipulation deep within the incision.
Innovation Solution
A minimally invasive implant system featuring a pair of spinal implants with elongated posts and pivotally mounted caps, along with percutaneous access tubes, allows for the secure insertion and deployment of a fixation rod, eliminating the need for separate rod positioning in transverse openings by using a cap/rod construct that pivots from a longitudinal to a perpendicular orientation within the access tubes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a minimally invasive approach with smaller incisions is used, then muscle damage and tissue disturbance are reduced, but the complexity of inserting and securing fixation rods increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the fixation rod with the cap assembly to form an integrated cap/rod construct. This merging eliminates the need for separate rod positioning operations and simplifies the minimally invasive insertion process by delivering both components through a single access tube in one maneuver.
Solution Approach 2:
The fixation rod is designed to pivot from a longitudinal orientation (aligned with the access tube) to a perpendicular orientation (aligned with the transverse rod receiving opening). This dynamic reorientation allows the rod to be inserted through the access tube and then automatically positioned into the transverse opening without requiring separate positioning operations.
2Ease of operation
If traditional open surgery with large incisions is used, then visualization and manipulation are easier, but muscle stripping and postoperative pain increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces percutaneous access tubes as intermediary devices that serve as conduits for delivering implants and fixation rods through small incisions. These access tubes provide a protected pathway that maintains visualization and manipulation capabilities while minimizing muscle damage by avoiding direct muscle stripping.
3Manufacturing precision
If separate rod positioning operations are performed, then precise rod placement can be achieved, but procedural time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fixation rod is pre-positioned within the cap assembly in a longitudinal orientation aligned with the access tube before insertion. This preliminary positioning allows the rod to be automatically oriented into the correct transverse position upon insertion, eliminating the need for separate positioning operations and reducing procedural time while maintaining precision.
Data Source
Figure 1a~2
Figure 3
Figure 4a~4b
AI summary
A spinal implant system for use in immobilizing adjacent vertebral bodies in a minimally invasive manner, including a pair of implants having lengths { sufficient so that one of the ends extend outside of a patient's body when the implants are installed. Each implant has a pair of opposed elongated posts which in conjunction with an orthogonally arranged support surface define a transverse opening for receiving a stabilizing rod. A cap having upper and lower surfaces is associated with each implant, each cap and it's associated post has means for advancing the cap along the posts toward the support surface to lock a stabilizing rod therebetween. The rod is pivotally coupled to one of the caps so that the rod, when pivoted, will extend between the transverse openings in adjacently installed implants.