Spinal Fixation Angular Guidance System for Alignment Precision
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current spinal fixation systems face challenges in achieving accurate alignment and placement of fixation elements due to the complex and non-planar nature of vertebral structures, leading to improper or unstable placement and increased reliance on fluoroscopy, which prolongs surgery time and exposes patients to radiation.
Innovation Solution
An angular guidance system with pivotally connected guide arms, goniometer, and deployable indicators allows for precise angular positioning of spine fixation elements relative to each other, minimizing the need for fluoroscopy by using guide wires, cannulated drills, and facet access assemblies for minimally invasive procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional spinal fixation systems are used without guidance, then the surgical procedure is simpler, but the alignment precision and placement accuracy of fixation elements deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces guide wires and angular guidance systems as intermediary tools that mediate between the surgeon and the vertebral structures. The guide wires provide a physical reference pathway, while the angular guidance system with pivotally connected guide arms and goniometer serves as a mediator to establish precise angular relationships, thereby improving alignment precision without requiring the surgeon to directly measure and calculate complex angles on non-planar vertebral surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The angular guidance system performs preliminary positioning and angular measurement before the actual insertion of fixation elements. The guide arms are positioned and angled in advance relative to the guide wires, allowing the surgeon to pre-establish the correct trajectory and angle for screw or rod placement, ensuring manufacturing precision before the critical insertion step.
2Manufacturing precision
If fluoroscopy is used frequently to check placement accuracy, then the alignment precision improves, but the radiation exposure to patients increases
Solution Approach 1:
The angular guidance system performs preliminary positioning and angular measurement before the actual insertion of fixation elements. The guide arms are positioned and angled in advance relative to the guide wires, allowing the surgeon to pre-establish the correct trajectory and angle for screw or rod placement, ensuring manufacturing precision before the critical insertion step.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide wires and angular guidance system serve as physical intermediaries that provide continuous visual and tactile reference during the procedure, replacing the need for repeated fluoroscopic checks. The system allows the surgeon to maintain awareness of placement accuracy through mechanical guidance rather than relying on radiation-based imaging.
3Reliability
If fluoroscopy is used frequently to verify placement, then the reliability of fixation element placement improves, but the surgery time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The angular guidance system performs preliminary positioning and angular measurement before the actual insertion of fixation elements. The guide arms are positioned and angled in advance relative to the guide wires, allowing the surgeon to pre-establish the correct trajectory and angle for screw or rod placement, ensuring manufacturing precision before the critical insertion step.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide wires and angular guidance system serve as physical intermediaries that provide continuous visual and tactile reference during the procedure, replacing the need for repeated fluoroscopic checks. The system allows the surgeon to maintain awareness of placement accuracy through mechanical guidance rather than relying on radiation-based imaging.
4Productivity
If fixation elements are inserted without precise angular guidance, then the insertion process is faster, but the stability and reliability of the fixation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The guide wires and angular guidance system serve as physical intermediaries that provide continuous visual and tactile reference during the procedure, replacing the need for repeated fluoroscopic checks. The system allows the surgeon to maintain awareness of placement accuracy through mechanical guidance rather than relying on radiation-based imaging.
Solution Approach 2:
The angular guidance system performs preliminary positioning and angular measurement before the actual insertion of fixation elements. The guide arms are positioned and angled in advance relative to the guide wires, allowing the surgeon to pre-establish the correct trajectory and angle for screw or rod placement, ensuring manufacturing precision before the critical insertion step.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for attaching first and second spine fixation elements at a predetermined angle relative to each other to first and second locations of a vertebra, respectively includes first and second guide arms pivotally connected to each other at a first pivot point and configured to pivot around a pivot axis passing through the first pivot point, and first and second guide tubes passing through first and second elongated through-bore openings formed in the first and second guide arms, respectively, and forming an X-structure as they exit the first and second through-bore openings.