Variable Locking Bone Plate With Spherical Threaded Hole
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing polyaxial bone plating systems are complex and difficult to manipulate during surgery due to the need for additional components like bushings or expandable rings to achieve polyaxial capability, which increases system complexity and makes them challenging to use effectively.
Innovation Solution
A bone plating system with a plate member having a hole with a spherically shaped sidewall featuring a right-hand helical thread and a left-hand helical cut that reduces the contact surface area, allowing a fastener to be locked at various angles without the need for additional components, facilitating easier manipulation and reduced complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If bushings or expandable rings are used to achieve polyaxial capability, then the bone screw can be inserted at selected angles, but the system complexity increases and manipulation during surgery becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the intermediate components (bushings or expandable rings) from the polyaxial bone plate system. By directly forming threaded holes with spherical contact surfaces in the bone plate, the patent achieves polyaxial capability without requiring separate bushing components, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining angular adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the functions of the bone plate hole and the bushing into a single integrated structure. The threaded hole with spherical contact surface combines the positioning, angular adjustment, and locking functions that were previously distributed across multiple components, simplifying the overall system while preserving polyaxial capability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If bushings or expandable rings are used to achieve polyaxial capability, then angle adjustment is possible, but the number of components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the intermediate bushing component from the assembly. By forming the threaded hole with an integrated spherical contact surface directly in the bone plate, the patent eliminates the need for separate bushing parts while maintaining the ability to adjust and lock the bone screw at various angles.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the contact surface area of the helical thread is reduced, then polyaxial insertion is facilitated, but the locking mechanism may be weakened
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by creating a spherical contact surface at the bottom of the threaded hole, which provides a localized area for angular adjustment and polyaxial insertion. The helical threads maintain their full contact surface area for locking, while the spherical portion specifically facilitates angle variation, thus maintaining both adaptability and locking strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a spherical contact surface at the terminus of the threaded hole to enable polyaxial insertion. The spherical geometry allows the bone screw head to contact the hole at various angles while the helical threads provide the necessary locking mechanism, separating the angular adjustment function from the locking function.
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus can include a plate member having a top surface, a bottom surface and a hole extending between the top and bottom surfaces. The plate member hole can have a spherically shaped sidewall. A right-hand helical thread can be formed in the sidewall of the plate member hole, and a left-hand helical cut can be formed in the sidewall of the plate member hole intersecting the right-hand helical thread. The left-hand helical cut can be configured to reduce a portion of a contact surface area of the right-hand helical thread and the sidewall of the plate member hole.