Spinal Rod Reducer Levers and Gripping Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spinal fixation systems face difficulties in aligning and seating rods within rod-receiving portions of spinal implants due to the rigidity and variability of vertebral structures, necessitating the use of rod reducers to facilitate the process.
Innovation Solution
The development of a rod reducer with a gripping assembly and a rod reducing assembly, featuring levers and a lock/release mechanism, which allows for easy alignment and secure seating of rods within spinal implants, reducing the force required and enabling efficient surgical procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a rod reducer is used to seat rods in spinal implants, then the alignment and seating process becomes easier, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rod reducer is divided into distinct functional modules: a gripping assembly for holding the spinal implant, a rod reducing assembly for pushing the rod, and lever mechanisms for actuation. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently while enabling easy disassembly for cleaning and sterilization, resolving the contradiction between operational ease and device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The rod reducer employs movable levers that can pivot between locked and unlocked positions, and a rod reducing assembly that translates distally relative to the gripping assembly. These dynamic components allow the device to adapt to different surgical scenarios and rod positions, improving ease of operation while maintaining manageable complexity through controlled movement rather than fixed rigid structures
2Force
If significant force is applied to seat the rod, then the rod can be seated in rigid vertebrae, but the operation becomes more difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The rod reducing assembly acts as an intermediary mechanism between the surgeon's manual input and the rod-seating action. It translates the pivoting motion of the levers into controlled distal translation that pushes the rod into the implant, providing mechanical advantage and reducing the direct force required from the surgeon, thereby improving ease of operation while still achieving effective rod seating
3Ease of repair
If the rod reducer is designed for easy disassembly, then cleaning and sterilization become simpler, but the device may require more components and connections
Solution Approach 1:
The rod reducer is designed with clearly defined separable components including the gripping assembly, rod reducing assembly, and lever mechanisms that can be easily detached from one another. This segmentation directly facilitates cleaning and sterilization by allowing each component to be accessed and processed independently, while the modular nature actually reduces overall complexity compared to integrated designs
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 rod reducer enables efficient and quick seating of rods in spinal implants, reducing surgical time and expense, while being easy to use and disassemble for cleaning and sterilization, thus improving the overall spinal surgery process.
Implementation Method 1
The first lever can be pivotally coupled to the proximal end of the gripping assembly. The second lever can be pivotally coupled to the first lever and the proximal end of the rod reducing assembly. Movement of the first lever and the second lever towards one another can cause the first and second levers to pivot about the proximal end of the gripping assembly.
Implementation Method 2
Movement of the first lever and the second lever towards one another can cause the rod reducing assembly to translate distally relative to the gripping assembly, thereby pushing a rod distally into a rod-receiving portion of a spinal implant held by the gripping assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
Kerrison-style rod reducers, inline-style rod reducers, and related methods of using the disclosed rod reducers for holding a spinal implant and seating a fixation rod in a rod-receiving portion of the spinal implant are provided for herein. The disclosed rod reducers can also be configured for applying a set screw or other closure mechanism to secure the rod within the rod-receiving portion of the spinal implant. The disclosed embodiments can be easy to use, not require significant force to operate, and be efficient, thereby reducing the time and expense necessary to perform spinal surgery. The disclosed rod reducers can be readily dissembled, thereby making these surgical instruments easy to clean and sterilize.