Rotating Protective Hood High-Speed Burr for Spinal Decompression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical instruments for lumbar spinal stenosis procedures, such as Kerrison punches and osteotomes, pose risks to nerve roots during decompression due to limited control and safety in severely stenotic conditions, and lack the ability for ipsilateral decompression, which is necessary for preserving spinal stability and minimizing invasive techniques.
Innovation Solution
A high-speed burr with a protective hood and rotatable design that allows for safer bone removal by exposing only a portion of the burr bit, enabling controlled bone resection and soft tissue debridement, while minimizing compression on nerve roots and allowing for ipsilateral decompression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional instruments (Kerrison punch, curette, osteotome) are used for foraminal decompression, then bone removal can be achieved, but nerve roots may be damaged due to lack of control in severely stenotic conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The burr is divided into multiple segments: a protective hood that can be rotated independently, a burr bit for bone removal, and a footplate for positioning. This segmentation allows the protective hood to be adjusted to expose only the necessary portion of the burr bit, providing controlled bone removal while protecting the nerve root from damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective hood is designed to be rotatable relative to the burr bit, allowing dynamic adjustment of the exposed burr portion during the procedure. This dynamic capability enables the surgeon to control the exact amount of burr exposed for bone removal while maintaining protection over the nerve root, significantly improving safety and control.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional instruments are used, then bone removal is possible, but they cannot enable ipsilateral decompression which is necessary for preserving spinal stability
Solution Approach 1:
The dissecting burr is designed as a multi-functional instrument that can perform both bone removal and soft tissue debridement through its rotatable protective hood mechanism. The same instrument structure enables both foraminal decompression and lateral recess decompression from the ipsilateral side, providing versatility without requiring multiple separate instruments.
3Productivity
If the burr bit is fully exposed for bone removal, then bone resection efficiency is improved, but the risk of compressing or damaging nerve roots increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective hood is designed to cover most of the burr bit, exposing only the necessary portion for bone removal. This partial exposure approach allows efficient bone removal where needed while maintaining protection over the nerve root, preventing excessive or uncontrolled bone removal that could harm neural structures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The high-speed burr facilitates safer and more controlled foraminal and lateral recess decompression, reducing the risk of nerve damage and enabling minimally invasive procedures that preserve bone and ligaments, thus maintaining spinal stability and reducing post-operative instability.
Implementation Method 1
high-speed burr facilitates safer and more controlled foraminal and lateral recess decompression
Data Source
AI summary
A rotatable surgical burr (100, 200, 300, 500) having a protective hood (120, 220, 320, 520, 620, 720) with a dissecting foot plate (119, 219, 319, 519, 619, 719) is provided to improve and enable various spinal decompression procedures. The surgical burr's protective hood has a dissecting foot plate that may be shaped to resemble a curette, a Woodson, or other appropriate dissecting tools to allow insertion of the tool between the spinal nerve and the compressing bone. The protective hood surrounds the burr bit (130, 230, 530) exposing only a portion of the burr bit for burring of the offending bone and protects the nerve from the burr tip. The instrument may also be configured with a soft tissue resecting tip (330) for soft tissue resection.