Spinal Implant Inserter With Rotatable Navigation Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical instruments for spinal implant insertion lack precision and accuracy, leading to potential misalignment and miscommunication during surgical procedures, which can complicate the treatment of spinal disorders.
Innovation Solution
A surgical system with a rotatable navigation tracker on an inserter shaft, integrated with a surgical navigation system, allows for real-time spatial data feedback and alignment correction, ensuring precise implant placement by rotating the tracker into the correct orientation without removing the inserter from the surgical site.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a fixed navigation component is used on the inserter shaft, then the structure is simple, but the tracking accuracy is compromised when the inserter needs repositioning
Solution Approach 1:
The navigation component is made rotatable relative to the inserter shaft, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position and orientation. This enables the navigation system to maintain accurate tracking even when the inserter is repositioned or rotated during the surgical procedure, resolving the contradiction between tracking accuracy and device simplicity.
2Measurement precision
If the navigation component is rotated to correct alignment, then positioning accuracy is improved, but the procedure time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The navigation system provides real-time feedback on the inserter's position and orientation through the rotatable navigation component. This allows the surgeon to make immediate alignment corrections by rotating the component, ensuring accurate implant placement without requiring time-consuming removal and repositioning of the entire inserter assembly.
3Measurement precision
If the inserter is removed from the surgical site to correct alignment, then positioning accuracy is achieved, but procedural efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable navigation component allows alignment corrections to be made in-place by rotating the component itself, eliminating the need to remove the inserter from the surgical site. This maintains surgical efficiency while achieving the necessary spatial alignment accuracy for proper implant placement.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for inserting a spinal implant into a vertebral space is disclosed. The method may include connecting a spinal implant to an inserter comprising a shaft having a navigation component positioned thereon, the shaft defining a central axis of the inserter. The method may also include selectively moving the navigation component from a first fixed position on the shaft to a second fixed position on the shaft by rotating the navigation component about a circumference of the shaft. The method may also include receiving, by a sensor array of a navigation system, spatial data from the navigation component corresponding to a position of the inserter and/or implant relative to the vertebral space. The method may also include displaying the spatial data on a monitor, manipulating the inserter to deliver the spinal implant into the vertebral space, and disengaging the inserter from the spinal implant.