Spinal Implant Buffer Unit for Torsion Stress Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional spinal implants are vulnerable to torsion stress and prone to breakage, leading to patient pain and potential re-operation, as they fail to effectively absorb and distribute pressure between vertebrae, especially after twisting motions.
Innovation Solution
A spinal implant with a buffer unit that includes a screw thread and deformation notches to absorb and distribute pressure, featuring a main body inserted between vertebrae with a buffer unit on its surface, allowing shape deformation and restoration, and a connection deformation assembly to manage torque, enhancing durability and structural strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional spinal implant is used to restore vertebral distance and function, then the vertebral function is recovered, but the implant is vulnerable to torsion stress and prone to breakage when the patient performs twisting motions
Solution Approach 1:
The implant incorporates a flexible membrane structure that can deform elastically under torsion stress and then restore its original shape. This membrane acts as a flexible element that absorbs twisting forces without breaking, resolving the contradiction between durability and torsion resistance by allowing controlled deformation rather than rigid resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The implant transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic system with movable parts. The membrane can change shape in response to applied forces, and the connection assembly allows relative movement between components. This dynamic capability enables the implant to adapt to torsion stress rather than resisting it rigidly, preventing breakage while maintaining reliability.
2Strength
If the implant uses a rigid connection assembly to maintain structural strength, then the connection between vertebrae is stable, but the implant cannot effectively absorb and distribute pressure, leading to breakage under torsion stress
Solution Approach 1:
The connection assembly incorporates a flexible membrane that can deform under load. This membrane distributes applied forces across a larger area and absorbs energy through elastic deformation, preventing stress concentration that would lead to breakage while maintaining connection strength between vertebrae.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection assembly is divided into multiple segments including first and second connection parts with a membrane between them. This segmentation allows each part to handle specific portions of the applied stress, distributing the load more effectively and preventing any single point from failing under torsion stress.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the implant maintains a fixed shape to provide stable support between vertebrae, then the vertebral distance is maintained, but the implant cannot deform to absorb impact and pressure, leading to potential breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The implant incorporates a membrane that can dynamically change shape in response to applied forces while maintaining the overall vertebral distance. The membrane deforms to absorb impact and pressure, then returns to its original configuration, providing both stability and shock absorption capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The membrane's physical parameters (shape, volume, density) can change in response to applied forces. The material properties are designed to allow elastic deformation under load while maintaining structural integrity, enabling the implant to absorb impact without compromising the maintained vertebral distance.
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 implant effectively disperses pressure and torque, reducing the risk of breakage and promoting bone fusion, enabling rapid recovery and long-term durability, thus minimizing patient discomfort and the need for re-operation.
Implementation Method 1
permitting the shape deformation and restoration against the pressure, an impact, or a load, which is vertically applied to the implant unit between the first vertebra and the second vertebra
Implementation Method 2
a screw thread screw-rotating along an outer circumferential surface of the main body in one direction
Implementation Method 3
changing torque according to first force applied from an end of the first protrusion piece and second force applied from an end of the second protrusion piece into the elastic force
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a spinal implant. The spinal implant include an implant unit disposed between a vertebra (hereinafter, referred to as a ‘first vertebra’) and a neighboring vertebra (hereinafter, referred to as a ‘second vertebra’) and a buffer unit provided in the implant unit to disperse or absorb a pressure, an impact, or a load, which is applied from the first vertebra and the second vertebra. The spinal implant may promote bone fusion formation in the state of being inserted between the vertebra and the neighboring vertebra during the surgery and to promote the quickly recovery after the surgery and also may fulfill its role as a substitute for a damaged disk through the shape deformation and the restoration of the buffer unit after the surgical procedure.