Universal Surgical Instrument Driver for Spinal Bone Screw Engagement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical instruments for spinal treatments often require pre-coupled tulip heads and multiple types of receivers, leading to increased inventory and complexity in the operating room, and may not provide a secure engagement with bone screws lacking traditional tulip heads.
Innovation Solution
A surgical instrument featuring a driver with a flexible collet and a threaded interface, allowing for secure engagement with bone screws without pre-coupled tulip heads, and enabling modular implant selection with minimal inventory, using a universal connection system that includes a snap-on mechanism and a reamer tip to facilitate attachment of tulip heads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pre-coupled tulip heads and multiple types of receivers are used, then secure engagement with bone screws is achieved, but inventory complexity and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical instrument is designed with a universal connection system that can engage with multiple types of bone screws (with or without tulip heads) using a single receiver design. The expandable member can adapt to different screw configurations, eliminating the need for multiple specialized receivers and reducing inventory complexity while maintaining secure engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The expandable member provides dynamic adaptation to different bone screw configurations. It can expand to engage tulip heads when present, or engage directly with bone screws lacking tulip heads, allowing a single receiver design to handle multiple scenarios securely without requiring pre-coupled components.
2Reliability
If traditional tulip head engagement is used, then secure fixation is achieved, but procedural complexity increases due to multiple receiver types
Solution Approach 1:
The single receiver design with expandable member serves multiple functions: it can engage traditional tulip heads, engage bone screws without tulip heads, and provide secure fixation in both scenarios. This universality simplifies the surgical procedure by eliminating the need for surgeons to select between multiple receiver types.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring the bone screw to have a specific configuration (tulip head) for secure engagement, the receiver is designed to adapt to the bone screw's configuration. The expandable member inverts the traditional approach by allowing the receiver to conform to the screw rather than requiring the screw to conform to a specific receiver type.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple types of receivers are maintained in inventory, then compatibility with various bone screws is improved, but loss of time for selection and increased device complexity occur
Solution Approach 1:
The receiver with expandable member is designed as a universal interface that accommodates multiple bone screw types (with tulip heads and without tulip heads) through a single design. This eliminates the need for surgical teams to maintain and select from multiple receiver types, saving time and reducing complexity while maintaining broad compatibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical instrument having a first member engageable with a first end of a fastener having a second end configured to penetrate tissue. A second member includes an expandable member configured for engaging the first end. Systems and methods are disclosed.