Pullwire Handle Device for Minimally Invasive Spinal Decompression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical techniques for spinal stenosis treatment are highly invasive, causing significant trauma, lengthy recovery, and long-term morbidity due to the need for extensive bone removal and spinal fusion, which limits patient mobility and increases stress on adjacent vertebrae, leading to further dysfunction and pain.
Innovation Solution
Development of surgical systems including a pullwire with a removable distal handle, a cannulated probe, and tissue modification and neural localization devices that allow for precise positioning and orientation within the spine, enabling minimally invasive procedures with enhanced control and safety features such as marked handles to prevent rotation and secure the pullwire, reducing the need for extensive bone removal and fusion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional surgical techniques are used for spinal stenosis treatment, then complete decompression of neural tissue is achieved, but extensive bone removal and spinal fusion are required causing significant trauma, lengthy recovery, and long-term morbidity
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical system is divided into multiple modular components including a guide wire, dilators, retractors, and tissue modification devices that can be sequentially deployed through a minimally invasive access path, eliminating the need for extensive open surgery while achieving complete decompression
Solution Approach 2:
A guide wire serves as an intermediary element that is first inserted through the minimally invasive access, providing a track for subsequent deployment of larger instruments and devices, enabling progressive access to the spinal canal without extensive tissue disruption
2Ease of operation
If conventional surgical techniques are used for spinal stenosis treatment, then adequate access to target tissues is obtained, but extensive muscle damage and significant post-operative pain result
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical approach transitions from a traditional wide open access in the sagittal plane to a minimally invasive percutaneous access through the skin and soft tissues, utilizing a vertical dimension for instrument insertion that minimizes disruption to paraspinal muscles
3Object-affected harmful factors
If minimally invasive techniques are used for spinal stenosis treatment, then surgical trauma is reduced, but positioning and orientation precision becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates radiopaque markers and contrast elements on instruments and devices that allow real-time visualization under fluoroscopic guidance, enabling precise positioning and orientation of tissue modification devices through minimally invasive access
Solution Approach 2:
The surgical system incorporates real-time imaging feedback through fluoroscopy and other imaging modalities that allow the surgeon to visualize instrument position, tissue response, and decompression effectiveness, enabling precise adjustments to achieve optimal results
4Loss of time
If minimally invasive techniques are used for spinal stenosis treatment, then recovery time is reduced, but the complexity of the surgical system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical system employs a standardized set of modular instruments and devices that can be used across different spinal levels and anatomical variations, reducing the need for multiple specialized tool sets while maintaining versatility for various decompression scenarios
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are pullwire handle devices for securing to a tissue-penetrating pullwire. In some embodiments, the device includes a handle body, a pullwire lock configured to removably lock the pullwire handle device onto a pullwire within the handle body, and a tip containment element configured to retain the distal tip of the pullwire. In some embodiments, the handle body further comprises a storage chamber configured to store a distal portion of the pullwire. Also described herein are methods for capturing a pullwire using a pullwire handle device. In some embodiments, the method includes the steps of inserting the distal end of a pullwire into the pullwire handle device, advancing the pullwire further into the pullwire handle device while the distal portion of the pullwire is contained within the pullwire handle device, and locking the distal portion of the pullwire within the pullwire handle device.