Radiolucent Bone Screw with Radiopaque Marker
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional metal bone screws used in spinal operations obstruct X-ray and MRI images, limiting the surgeon's ability to ensure proper placement and diagnose issues post-implantation due to their radiopaque nature.
Innovation Solution
Development of polyaxial and fixed bone screws with radiolucent shafts made from biocompatible fiber and adhesive matrices, allowing for clear imaging while maintaining structural integrity, and incorporating radiopaque cores for visibility during procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If metal bone screws are used to ensure structural strength, then the screws can handle stresses placed upon them, but the screws block X-rays and disrupt MRI images, obscuring adjacent bone and internal structures
Solution Approach 1:
The bone screw is constructed as a composite structure combining radiolucent fibers (such as carbon or glass fibers) embedded in a biocompatible polymer matrix. This composite construction provides the necessary structural strength while maintaining radiolucency, allowing X-rays and MRI images to pass through clearly. The radiolucent material composition enables both mechanical integrity and imaging visibility, resolving the contradiction between strength and imaging clarity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the material parameters from traditional metal to radiolucent fiber-composite materials. By altering the density and atomic composition parameters of the screw material, the screw becomes transparent to X-rays and MRI fields while maintaining adequate mechanical strength through the fiber-reinforced polymer structure. This parameter change eliminates the imaging obstruction problem while preserving structural functionality.
2Reliability
If metal bone screws are used for spinal stabilization, then the screws provide necessary mechanical support, but the screws prevent clear visualization of adjacent bone structures during and after implantation
Solution Approach 1:
The bone screw employs a composite material system where radiolucent fibers are embedded in a biocompatible polymer matrix. This composite structure provides the mechanical reliability needed for spinal stabilization while ensuring that the screw does not obstruct X-ray or MRI imaging. The radiolucent fiber composition allows clear visualization of adjacent bone structures, enabling post-implantation monitoring without compromising stabilization capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies the principle of radiological visibility by using materials that are radiolucent rather than radiopaque. The radiolucent fiber-composite material allows X-rays and MRI signals to pass through, creating a 'transparent' appearance on imaging studies. This enables clear visualization of bone structures and soft tissues around the screw, facilitating post-implantation assessment of bone healing and screw positioning.
3Loss of information
If radiolucent materials are used for the screw shaft, then clear imaging is enabled, but the screws may lack sufficient radiopaque markers for visibility during procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The bone screw incorporates radiopaque markers at specific locations along the screw shaft while maintaining radiolucent material throughout the majority of the screw structure. These localized radiopaque markers provide visibility on X-rays and MRI images at critical positions, enabling detection and measurement of screw placement without compromising the overall radiolucent特性 that allows clear imaging of adjacent structures. The local application of radiopaque material resolves the contradiction between imaging clarity and screw visibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A bone screw includes an elongate shaft extending longitudinally between a proximal end and an opposing distal end The shaft bounds a first passageway at least partially extending between the proximal end and the distal end. The shaft is comprised of a radiolucent material. A core is disposed within the first passageway of the shaft. The core can be comprised of a radiolucent or radiopaque material. A head is either integrally formed with or secured to the proximal end of the shaft or the proximal end of the core. The head can also bound a second passageway that extends through the head and is aligned with the first passageway. The core can also be disposed within the second passageway.