Spinal Cage Deployable Spin-Plate Stability Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Spinal cages used in spinal fusion surgeries often require additional stabilization and positioning mechanisms to prevent movement and ensure proper bone integration, as they can shift from their intended position, and existing solutions do not adequately address these needs.
Innovation Solution
A spinal cage design with a circumferentially closed wall and a deployable spin-plate that can be rotated and engaged with the cage, along with a filler piece and instrumentation interfaces for various surgical approaches, to provide stability and facilitate bone growth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a separate plate is attached to the vertebrae to physically prevent possible motion of the spinal cage, then the stability and positioning of the spinal cage is improved, but the device complexity and surgical procedure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the stabilization function directly into the spinal cage structure by incorporating deployable members (such as spin-plates or blades) that can be rotated from a retracted position within the cage to a deployed position extending beyond the cage. This merging of the stabilization mechanism into the cage itself eliminates the need for separate plates attached to vertebrae, thereby maintaining stability while reducing device complexity and surgical procedure complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The deployable members are designed to be dynamically adjustable during surgery, allowing the surgeon to rotate them from a retracted to a deployed position as needed. This dynamic capability provides stability when required while allowing the structure to remain compact and simple when the deployable members are retracted, effectively resolving the contradiction between stability and device complexity
2Device complexity
If deployable members are integrated into the spinal cage to provide stabilization, then the device complexity is reduced compared to separate plates, but the manufacturing precision and assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spinal cage is segmented into distinct components: the main cage body and separate deployable members (spin-plates or blades). These segments can be manufactured independently using standard precision techniques, then assembled together. The deployable members are designed to fit within predetermined recesses or slots in the cage, requiring precision but allowing for modular manufacturing rather than requiring the entire structure to be manufactured as a single complex piece
Solution Approach 2:
The deployable members are designed to nest within the spinal cage structure when in the retracted position, with specific recesses or slots provided in the cage wall to receive the deployable members. This nesting arrangement requires precise manufacturing of the recesses and the corresponding dimensions of the deployable members, but allows for standardized precision manufacturing of separate components rather than requiring complex integrated manufacturing
Data Source
AI summary
A spinal cage with a wall extending in a longitudinal direction defining an interior space is disclosed. There is also provided a deployable element in movable relation to the spinal cage. In some embodiments, there is a rib, and the rotatable member is engaged at one end with the wall and at the other end with the rib. In some embodiments, the spinal cage is provided with holes for screws that can be directed at adjacent vertebrae for fixation. Such a spinal cage can be used with the spin-plate or with the screws. The screws and the spinal cage may have features that cooperate to prevent back-out of the screws.