Spinal Implant Packaging with Hinged Lid
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional spinal implant packaging is bulky, compromises sterility, and generates significant medical waste due to the need for manual handling, which increases procedural time and costs.
Innovation Solution
A universal packaging system with a tray and hinged lid that allows for no-touch loading and unloading of multiple spinal rods and set screws, reducing the number of packages needed and minimizing handling, while maintaining sterility through a secure and easy-to-open design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional molded packages are used to deliver spinal implants, then the implants can be delivered to medical personnel, but the implants must be touched by medical personnel to remove them from the package, thus compromising the sterility of the implants
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a sterile barrier layer that acts as an intermediary between the sterile implant and the non-sterile external environment. This barrier layer can be peeled away or opened without requiring direct contact between medical personnel and the implant, thus maintaining sterility while enabling easy access. The barrier serves as a mediator that protects the implant during handling and removal.
2Reliability
If conventional molded packages are used to deliver spinal implants, then the implants can be delivered, but the packages are often bulky and therefore result in a significant amount of medical waste
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging system is divided into separate functional components: a reusable outer container and disposable inner sterile barriers or trays. This segmentation allows the bulky protective structure to be separated from the actual implant, enabling the protective elements to be reused or recycled while minimizing waste of the implant itself and reducing overall packaging volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a nested packaging structure where smaller sterile containers or barriers are placed within a larger protective outer packaging. This nesting approach allows compact storage and transport while providing multiple layers of protection. The nested structure reduces the overall volume required for shipping and storage compared to using separate bulky packages for each protective element.
3Reliability
If multiple separate packages are used for multiple implants, then each implant can be individually protected, but the number of packages increases, increasing procedural time and costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple implants into a single integrated packaging unit with individual sterile compartments or barriers for each implant. This merged package allows all implants to be accessed and removed simultaneously or sequentially from one package rather than opening multiple separate packages during surgery, thereby reducing procedural time while maintaining individual sterility protection through internal compartmentalization.
Data Source
AI summary
A spinal implant package includes a tray having a body including spaced apart first and second cavities. The body includes a third cavity between the first and second cavities. The tray includes a first connecting feature that is movable relative to the body. A lid is coupled to the tray by a hinge. The lid includes a second connecting feature that is movable between a first position in which a bottom surface of the second connecting feature directly engages a top surface of the first connecting feature and a second position in which a top surface of the second connecting feature directly engages a bottom surface of the first connecting feature to provisionally fix the lid to the tray.