Spinal Stabilization Device with Segmented Anchors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spinal stabilization techniques often require open surgical procedures, leading to higher costs, longer hospital stays, and patient pain, and they fail to preserve natural spinal motion, especially for patients with mild or moderate disc conditions.
Innovation Solution
A spinal stabilization device with a distal anchor inserted into a vertebra's pedicle and a proximal anchor that abuts against the superior adjacent vertebra's articular process, allowing for limited movement while resisting distal movement, implemented through a minimally invasive procedure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If open surgical procedures are used for spinal stabilization, then stabilization effectiveness is improved, but patient pain and hospital stay duration increase
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilization device is divided into separate components: a proximal anchor, a distal anchor, and a connecting rod. This segmentation allows for minimally invasive insertion through small incisions while maintaining effective stabilization through the assembly of these modular parts within the vertebral column.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting rod acts as an intermediary element between the proximal and distal anchors, transmitting stabilizing forces while allowing controlled movement. This intermediary component enables effective stabilization without requiring extensive open surgery, reducing patient pain and recovery time.
2Reliability
If open surgical procedures are used for spinal stabilization, then stabilization effectiveness is improved, but hospital stay duration increases
Solution Approach 1:
The modular segmented design of the stabilization device enables minimally invasive insertion, reducing surgical time and allowing patients to be discharged sooner while maintaining effective stabilization through the distributed anchor and rod configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The device allows for adjustable parameters including the degree of motion restriction and the positioning of anchors along the vertebral column. This adjustability enables optimization of stabilization effectiveness while minimizing surgical intervention time, thereby reducing hospital stay duration.
3Reliability
If rigid fixation systems are used, then stabilization effectiveness is improved, but natural spinal motion is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting rod is designed with dynamic characteristics that allow it to flex and adapt to natural spinal movements. This dynamic design provides effective stabilization while preserving natural spinal motion, eliminating the need for rigid fixation systems that would completely restrict movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The device enables adjustable parameters for motion restriction, allowing the degree of flexibility to be optimized for each patient's needs. This parameter adjustment capability maintains stabilization effectiveness while adapting to preserve natural spinal motion patterns.
4Adaptability or versatility
If flexible materials are used as fixation rods, then natural spinal motion is preserved, but stabilization effectiveness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting rod utilizes composite material properties combining flexibility to preserve natural spinal motion with sufficient strength to provide effective stabilization. This composite approach allows the rod to bend with spinal movement while maintaining the structural integrity needed for reliable stabilization.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of limiting at least one degree of movement between a superior vertebral body and an inferior vertebral body of a patient includes advancing a distal end of a stabilization device into a pedicle of the inferior vertebral body. A proximal portion of the stabilization device is positioned such that the proximal portion limits at least one degree of movement between a superior vertebral body and an inferior vertebral body by contacting a surface of the superior vertebral body.