Spinal Bone Fastener with Pre-Assembled Set Screw
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spinal implant systems for treating musculoskeletal disorders, such as scoliosis and degenerative disc disease, face challenges in providing efficient stabilization and alignment during surgical procedures, particularly in reducing surgical time and eliminating the need for in-situ placement of set screws.
Innovation Solution
A spinal implant system featuring a bone fastener with a body defining grooves, a set screw, and interchangeable components, including a crown and bands, which allows for secure attachment to vertebrae without the need for in-situ set screw placement, enabling faster procedures and compatibility with modular systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional spinal implant systems are used with in-situ set screw placement, then secure vertebral fixation is achieved, but surgical time is extended and procedural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The set screw is pre-assembled with the bone fastener body outside the patient's body before surgery. This preliminary assembly eliminates the need for time-consuming in-situ set screw placement during surgery, while ensuring proper alignment and secure fixation when the complete assembly is implanted
Solution Approach 2:
The set screw, bone fastener body, and crown are combined into a single pre-assembled unit. This merging of components simplifies the implantation process by reducing the number of separate placement steps required during surgery, thereby reducing surgical time while maintaining fixation reliability
2Manufacturing precision
If traditional spinal implant systems require in-situ set screw placement, then proper component alignment is achieved, but procedural complexity and surgical difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Component alignment is achieved during pre-surgical assembly in the controlled manufacturing environment rather than during surgery. The set screw and crown are pre-aligned with the bone fastener body grooves and bands, eliminating the need for complex alignment maneuvers during the surgical procedure
Solution Approach 2:
The bone fastener system is segmented into modular components (body, set screw, crown, bands) that can be independently manufactured and precisely assembled outside the body. This segmentation allows for specialized manufacturing techniques to ensure proper alignment, which would be difficult to achieve during surgery
3Adaptability or versatility
If modular interchangeable components are used in spinal implant systems, then system versatility and adaptability improve, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bone fastener body is designed with universal features including standardized grooves and mating surfaces that can accommodate different shaft types and configurations. This universality allows a single bone fastener body design to work with multiple shaft variations, enhancing system versatility without requiring complex component designs
Solution Approach 2:
The modular components are designed with nested relationships where the set screw fits within the bone fastener body, the crown engages with the body grooves, and bands are disposed within grooves. This nested structure provides organized complexity that facilitates interchangeability while maintaining system coherence
Data Source
AI summary
A bone fastener comprises a first member defining a plurality of grooves. A coupling member is disposed with the first member. A first band and a second band are disposable within the grooves. A second member is configured to penetrate tissue and includes a head engageable with the first band to provisionally connect the first member to the second member. The coupling member is engageable with a part to move the part relative to the first member into engagement with the second band to dispose the second band adjacent the first band to connect the first member to the second member. Systems, surgical instruments, implants and methods are disclosed.