Pivoting Spinal Screw Navigating Bone Path
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spinal screws lack features to safely navigate vertebral bone, leading to potential nerve and bone damage during spinal surgery, as optimal placement is confirmed post-operatively, and existing screws do not inherently find the path of least resistance.
Innovation Solution
A surgical screw with a pivoting tip and a pedicle finder equipped with a pivot point, allowing 360-degree pivot movement, to automatically find and follow the path of least resistance within the bone during surgery, ensuring safer screw placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional rigid spinal screw is used, then the screw structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the screw cannot automatically navigate the bone to find the path of least resistance, leading to potential nerve and bone damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the screw tip pivotable rather than rigid. The tip can rotate and adjust its orientation dynamically as the screw is being inserted, allowing it to automatically follow the path of least resistance through the bone. This dynamic adjustment capability enables the screw to navigate the complex geometry of vertebral bone safely without requiring complex pre-planning or post-operative confirmation.
2Manufacturing precision
If the screw tip is made pivotable to find the path of least resistance, then the safety and optimal placement of the screw is improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the screw into distinct functional segments: a rigid body portion and a pivotable tip portion. This segmentation allows the complex pivoting mechanism to be isolated to just the tip, simplifying the overall manufacturing process. The pivotable tip can be designed as a separate component that attaches to the main screw body, enabling specialized manufacturing techniques for the tip while keeping the bulk of the screw manufacturing straightforward.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the mechanical properties of the screw tip to allow pivoting. This involves changing the rigidity parameter of the tip portion, making it flexible enough to rotate and adjust orientation while maintaining sufficient strength for bone engagement. The pivot mechanism utilizes controlled mechanical parameter changes to enable the tip to follow the path of least resistance through varying bone density and geometry.
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical spinal screw apparatus configured to facilitate safer spinal surgery and reconstruction via a pivoting tip. The apparatus is equipped with a tip which is configured to pivot about a pivot point which facilitates minor redirection of the apparatus when driven through bone such as a vertebra. The apparatus is geared towards finding a path of least resistance through the bone. As such, the tip is configured to pivot towards less dense pockets of bone as the screw is placed during surgery. A pedicle finder, a companion apparatus, is configured to facilitate placement of the spinal screw, and is similarly equipped with a pivoting tip. The spinal screw is threaded and is equipped with a hollow core to facilitate the passage of a guide wire to assist in placement and tension of the pivoting tip as needed.