Retractor Cannula with Integrated Endoscope for Spine Visualization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional systems for treating injured intervertebral discs lack real-time, on-board visualization capabilities and tactile sensation, making it difficult to accurately diagnose and repair disc injuries without causing damage to surrounding anatomical structures and tissues.
Innovation Solution
A retractor cannula device with a tubular body and a retractor assembly at its distal end, featuring movable jaws that can transition between closed and open configurations, allowing for direct visualization and atraumatic tissue displacement to create a working space for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional percutaneous procedures are used to access the disc, then minimally invasive treatment is achieved, but real-time visualization and tactile sensation are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines percutaneous access with integrated visualization (endoscope through lumens) and tactile feedback (retractor assembly with curved surfaces) into a single device system, allowing minimally invasive treatment while restoring real-time sensory information
Solution Approach 2:
The endoscope acts as an intermediary to provide visual information to the surgeon during percutaneous disc access, while the retractor assembly serves as an intermediary to provide tactile feedback about tissue interaction forces
2Illumination intensity
If visualization devices are inserted into the epidural space, then direct visualization is achieved, but anatomical elements collapse around the device reducing visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The retractor assembly extracts or displaces anatomical elements (nerves, vessels, fat) away from the viewing path by creating a working space, preventing them from collapsing around the endoscope and blocking the view
Solution Approach 2:
The retractor assembly creates a three-dimensional working space by displacing tissue in multiple directions, establishing a clear pathway for the endoscope to visualize the epidural space without obstruction
3Ease of operation
If instruments are inserted into the epidural space without direct visualization, then minimally invasive access is maintained, but inadvertent damage to nerve roots occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The endoscope provides continuous visual feedback to the surgeon during instrument insertion and manipulation, allowing real-time detection and avoidance of nerve roots, while the retractor assembly provides tactile feedback about tissue resistance and contact forces
Solution Approach 2:
The retractor assembly acts as an intermediary between the surgeon's instruments and the delicate epidural structures, providing tactile feedback that alerts the surgeon to potential nerve root contact before damage occurs
4Volume of moving object
If the retractor assembly is in closed configuration, then minimal profile for insertion is achieved, but no working space is created
Solution Approach 1:
The retractor assembly transitions dynamically between closed configuration (minimal profile for insertion) and open configuration (creates working space), allowing the device to adapt its volume based on the procedural phase
Data Source
AI summary
Retractor cannula systems may be used for accessing and visualizing the spine and related methods of treatment, including a forward-looking retractor cannula system for creating a working space and the retractor cannula system having atraumatic dissection capability to allow visualization in spine. The devices and methods described may be used, for example, to perform annulus repair, herniated disc excision, and denervation of neurological tissue; to dispense pharmacological agents and/or cell or tissue therapy agents; to diagnose disc degeneration and bony degeneration, spinal stenosis, and nucleus decompression, and to perform disc augmentation.