Vertebral Implant Segmented Height Fastening Anchoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vertebral implants, particularly corpectomy cages, face challenges in stabilization, size modulation, and ease of implantation due to complex and expensive expansion mechanisms that can embrittle adjacent structures, offer limited graft space, and require excessive distraction, making them difficult to anchor and remove.
Innovation Solution
A vertebral implant with a peripheral wall and fastening means that deploy by sliding parallel or curvilinearly, featuring a plate that remains in contact with the implant and a pointed end for anchoring, allowing for reliable and easy anchoring and removal without excessive distraction, and a fastening device with a curved plate that enters vertebral structures through a passage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If expansible mechanisms are used to modulate implant height, then the implant can be adjusted to restore physiological height, but the mechanisms become complex and expensive, and may embrittle adjacent vertebral structures
Solution Approach 1:
The implant is divided into multiple height segments that can be selectively removed or retained. The body includes a first height segment and a second height segment, where the second segment can be removed to reduce overall implant height. This segmentation allows height modulation without complex expansion mechanisms, as the implant can be configured in different height states before insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The height modulation is performed preliminarily during implant preparation rather than in situ during surgery. The second height segment is removed before implant insertion, allowing the implant to be inserted in its final height configuration. This eliminates the need for complex expansion mechanisms during surgery and reduces surgical time and complexity.
2Reliability
If notches are added to contact surfaces for stabilization, then anchoring capability improves, but additional distraction is required for insertion
Solution Approach 1:
Stabilization features are added locally to specific regions of the implant rather than requiring overall size increase. Notches or teeth are provided on the lateral walls of the implant body at specific locations to engage with the vertebral bodies. This localized approach provides anchoring capability without requiring additional distraction distance for insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilization mechanism transitions from requiring additional longitudinal distraction to utilizing lateral engagement. The notches or teeth on the lateral walls engage with the vertebral bodies in a lateral dimension, allowing stabilization without increasing the longitudinal distraction distance required for implant insertion.
3Length of moving object
If expansible cages are used, then height can be increased in situ, but graft space is reduced and the implant requires excessive distraction for insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The final implant height is established preliminarily during preparation by selecting which height segments to retain, rather than expanding the implant in situ. This allows the implant to be inserted in its final height configuration, maximizing the internal volume available for bone graft material without the space losses associated with in situ expansion mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The implant body is segmented into removable height portions, allowing precise control of final implant height. By removing only the necessary second height segment, the implant achieves the required height for distraction while preserving maximum internal graft space, unlike expansible cages where expansion reduces available volume.
4Reliability
If anchoring means are added to the implant, then stabilization improves, but the implant becomes more difficult to remove if complications arise
Solution Approach 1:
The anchoring system is designed to be dynamically reversible. The notches or teeth that provide strong anchoring during normal function can be disengaged from the vertebral bodies through controlled application of force in the opposite direction. This dynamic design allows the implant to be securely anchored during surgery and rehabilitation while remaining removable if complications arise.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchoring features are designed to allow controlled disengagement and removal of the implant when necessary. The notches or teeth can be forced back into the implant body or disengaged from the vertebral bodies through specific removal techniques, allowing the implant to be discarded or recovered based on clinical needs without permanent fixation.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure provides vertebral implants, fastening devices for vertebral implants, and implant instrumentation, and various combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the implant comprises a peripheral wall extending according to a vertical axis between upper and lower surfaces of the implant, with each such surface configured to be placed in contact with a vertebral structure, respectively, at the top and the bottom of the vertebral segment replaced by the implant. Some embodiments comprise fastening means, deployment of which anchors the implant in the lower and upper vertebral structures. Some fastening means may be deployed by sliding parallel to the vertical axis of the implant, and may comprise a plate with at least one part remaining in contact with the peripheral wall of the implant when deployed and a pointed end projecting from one of the upper and lower surfaces of the implant to enter a vertebral structures on completion of deployment.