Patent Application
20240189886
The present invention is directed systems, devices, and methods related to the design and formation of surgical implants such as surgical linking devices. More particularly the present invention provides systems, devices, and methods for forming or shaping a surgical implant to conform to two or more selected attachment points (including surface anatomy) in a six degree of freedom method for attachment.
Fixation systems for aligning, adjusting and or fixing, either partially or rigidly, portions of a patient's bony anatomy in a desired spatial relationship relative to each other are frequently used in orthopedic surgery. For example, in spinal surgery for repair or positional adjustment of the vertebrae, it is often necessary that multiple vertebrae are surgically manipulated. As spinal surgery often requires the instrumentation of more bony elements than other areas of orthopedic surgery, the linkage devices can be extremely challenging to design and implant. Treatment for conditions such as scoliosis, spinal injury, disk problems and the like often make use of spinal rod fixation systems for positioning the vertebrae and supporting the spinal motion segments.
A spinal rod needs to be oriented in six degrees of freedom to compensate for the anatomical structure of the particular patient's spine and the particular attachment points or methods for attaching the rods to the vertebrae. In addition, the physiological problem being treated as well as physician's preferences will determine the exact configuration necessary. Accordingly, the size, length and particular bends of each spinal rod depends on the size, number and position of each vertebra to be constrained, their spatial relationship as well as the fixating means, such as pedicle screws, used to hold the rods attached to each vertebra. The relationship of the vertebrae will be different for each patient and the positioning of the patient at the point of installation of the rods. During surgery, the orientation of the spine and vertebrae can be very different than the corresponding position of a patient's upright posture. Rods are bent in one or more anatomic planes measured by distance from each bend, angle of the bend and rotation in relationship to other bend points in order to fit into two or more vertebral anchors.
The bending of a spinal rod can be accomplished by a number of methods. The oldest and most widely used method for bending rods manually during surgery is a three-point bender called a French Bender in which a bending pliers type device is manually operated to place one or more bends in a rod. The French Bender requires both hands to operate and provides leverage based on the length of the handle. While the device can make it relatively easy to bend a spinal rod, the determination of the location, angle and rotation of bends using such a device is often arbitrary. Problems can thus occur from bending a device and then rebending to fix mistakes which impose metal fatigue or stress risers into a rod thus increasing the risk of a mechanical failure. Increased time in the operating room (OR) to achieve optimum bending of the rod can increase the chance of morbidity.
Spinal rods are usually formed of stainless steel, titanium or other similarly hard metal, and as such are difficult to bend without some sort of leverage-based bender. In addition, since several spatial relationships have to be maintained in using a French Bender, the process can take an extremely long time and its use requires a great degree of physician skill to accomplish an accurate final product. Even still it is difficult to achieve a well-shaped rod using the French Bender. Accordingly, various ways have been attempted to overcome the limitations of the current technology.
A number of manual benders are described in the art. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,685 issued May 19, 1992 to Asher et al, there is described an apparatus for use in bending rods and plates to the spinal column comprising an elongated bar with a variety of bending angles for bending more angles than the French Bender. However, this device is hard to use and provides no means for determining the six degrees of spatial relationship that each bend must make. In US patent application 2006/0150699 published Jul. 13, 2006 to Garner, et al, there is an instrument and method for bending rod using a lever pliers type device having bearing surfaces. In addition, the angle of bend can be determined by use of a gauge that indicates angle bend by degree of grip movement. While this device may be easier to use, it does not aid in determination of the other degrees of freedom either in calculating them or in making the final bends.
An automatic method designed for pre-surgical formation of spinal rods is disclosed in US patent application 2005/0262911 published Dec. 1, 2005 to Dankowicz, et al. An automatic series of shaping steps is “imposed” on a rod from an input mechanism for producing the desired multi-dimensional bent shape. One problem with this device is that it relies on a pre-surgical determination of the points at which bends occur to determine the final shape of the rod. While it is possible to anticipate where the anchors might ideally end up and occasionally be correct, surgical implantation of attachment points is as much art as science so a preformed rod may not be accurately produced when compared to the anchor means as they are actually installed in the spine. This can lead to a highly problematic circumstance in which the surgical site has been opened and the surgeon has a rod that does not fit the attachment points. Further disadvantages are that the device is large and that some surgeons still would prefer a manual means of producing a rod during surgery because of the ability to make minute adjustments based on feedback during surgery.
Effort has been directed to computer-aided design or shaping of spinal rods, but these efforts have been largely unsuccessful due to the lack of bending devices as well as a lack of understanding of all the issues involved in bending surgical devices. For example, an article entitled “A pilot study on computer-assisted optimal contouring of orthopedic fixation devices,” Computer Aided Surgery, 1999; 4 (6):305-13, indicated that overcoming these problems would be difficult if not impossible.
Image guided surgical systems, for example, devices produced by BrainLAB, as well as three dimensional digitizers are already in the art and some are already FDA approved for use during surgery. These devices are fairly commonly used by some physicians in the operating environment. By moving the digitizer through space or inputting a particular point in space, a map can be produced of spatial relationships. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,400,131, issued on Dec. 31, 2002 to Leitner et al., there is described a contour mapping system applicable as a spine analyzer and probe. The device is disclosed as being used to determine the curvature of the spine while standing and contour mapping of the spine in the intact (non-surgical) patient.
Accordingly, a means for designing and forming a surgical linking device, especially for linking bony parts of the body, for use in a surgical orthopedic procedure such as the attachment of a spinal rod, that is accurate, quick and takes the various input characteristics into account for the specific implanted device as actually needed would be of great value during an orthopedic implant surgery such as spinal surgery.
In one embodiment there is a system for shaping a surgical linking device for attachment to a selected bony body structure having at least two linking device attachment elements comprising:
In yet another embodiment there is a surgical linking device on a selected bony body structure comprising:
Yet another embodiment includes a device for bending a surgical linking device, in which the device is particularly suited for manual operation, comprising:
Another embodiment of the invention includes a device for determining the rotation for placing a bend in a surgical linking device comprising:
Yet still another embodiment is a means for determining the selection of a preformed surgical linking device for use in attaching to a selected bony body structure having at least two linking device attachment elements comprising:
A further embodiment contemplates a method for placing multiple bends with 6 degrees of freedom in a surgical linking device comprising:
Another embodiment of the present invention is a process for producing one or more shapes in a surgical linking device comprising:
In yet another embodiment, a method is provided for shaping a surgical linking device for engagement to a plurality of attachment elements engaged within the selected bony body structure, each of the attachment elements having an engagement portion for engagement with the shaped linking device, in which the method comprises:
In another aspect of the invention, a digitizer probe is provided that is configured to temporarily mate with the head of an implant. The probe includes a shaft accessible beyond the implant that can be used to fix the location of the implant when determining the bending protocol for a rod, plate, or elongate member to engage the implant.
The present invention refers to a method for improving the shaping of a surgical linking device, for example, by bending. First, by digitally calculating appropriate shapes such as bends in 6 degrees of freedom (three dimensional) and then outputting that information to the surgeon or other medical personnel or to a bending device, a linking device can be easily and quickly shaped by casting, bending or the like. Second, a device is disclosed for quickly and easily taking the input from a digitally calculated means, or other similar means, and manually shaping a precisely bent or shaped linking device. Accordingly, the time spent in surgery bending linking devices can be greatly reduced thus improving the chances of a successful operation without complications as well as reduce the cost of such an operation, for example, from rebending or bending a second device. Since a significant portion of time is spent in bending and in some cases rebending such devices, taking minutes to an hour or more off the time to bend a linking device correctly is an important advance in the art.
While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail specific embodiments, with the understanding that the present disclosure of such embodiments is to be considered as an example of the principles and not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments shown and described. In the description below, like reference numerals are used to describe the same, similar or corresponding parts in the several views of the drawings.
It is understood that the term “coupled”, as used herein, is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. The term “bending” refers to the act of forcing, or the like, a linking device from a first position at a particular point to a second angular or curved position at that point in three dimensional space. Six degrees of freedom are considered in bending a particular device once the location of the bend is determined. In general, once the position of the placement of a bend is determined, then the angle of the bend and in many cases the rotation about a central axis may also be determined. In many cases a simple angular shaping is sufficient while in others, such as is often the case for surgical rods, a rotation off axis is necessary.
The bending is exemplified in the drawings which explanation follows. As used herein “shaping” refers to not only bending but other methods of taking the 6 degrees of freedom information generated with the present invention and producing a shaped device. In addition to bending, the use of extrusion, casting, deformation, molding and the like could be considered a means of shaping a particular device with the information generated herein. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,614 issued Jun. 15, 2004 to Teitelbaum, et al., for an example of such material which could be used to shape a linking device with the present invention methods.
A “surgical linking device” as used herein refers to those devices used during surgery to use to bind to a selected bony body structure to mend, stabilize, move, reshape, correct deformities or strengthen such as attachments made to bones. For example, surgical rods, surgical plates, surgical transverse connecting rods, surgical wire or surgical cable and the like are used in surgery to mend, stabilize or correct breaks, correct deformities and the like in selected bones by attachment to two or more attachment points. Such plates and rods usually are supplied straight in a number of lengths or preformed arcs and must be bent to fit their intended use. (See v2-Evren 2008 online catalog, www.v2evren.com.tr for examples of vertebral rods and connectors as well as other orthopedic devices of a surgical nature). Typically, these devices are made of titanium or other extremely durable, stiff and difficult to bend material. Rigid materials such as titanium, commercially pure titanium, stainless steel, cobalt chrome and the like could be used. Other materials include flexible materials such as made of PEEK or other appropriate plastics, graphite or the like, bumpered systems and devices in both mono and multi diameter versions. Where casting or other shaping means are used, any rigid material suitable for surgical use in these conditions can be used.
Additionally, useful are shape memory alloys, shape altering devices, materials with varying stiffness, biological materials and any synthetic material with bioactive properties. In particular, the benefits of shape memory materials could be magnified by the processes described herein, especially when such processes are applied more than once on the same linking device. The shape memory materials allow an initial shape based on the location of the fixation points or facilitate rod implantation and final shape determination from the altered position. The linking device can then be used to alter the orientation of the bony structure(s) to help achieve the results of surgery. Other surgical linking devices could include plates attached to specific body parts, both in the apendicular and axial skeleton, as well as cables and rigid clamps used to affix to and alter teeth and their alignment.
The French Bender is the surgical instrument of choice today to bend these materials but it does so without regard to being able to measure the 6 degrees of freedom of movement in any manner. Accordingly, the process of bending a surgical rod with a French Bender is laborious and demanding, requires some degree of artistry and frequently requires starting over.
A “linking device attachment elements” refers to a means attached to a body structure designed to received the surgical linking device and hold it in place. Surgical clamps and screws are common examples of these devices. In the case of a surgical rod, a variety of surgical screws, bolts, and hooks are available to screw into the bone and or to hold the rods in place. These include polyaxial screws, mono axial screws, fixed angle screws, iliac screws, sacral screws, lateral mass screws, bolts, laminar hooks and pedicle hooks. In additions, items such as staples, or plates that serve to hold one body part, can serve as an anchor to which a linking device can be affixed onto the spine especially with anterior plating systems. All these systems can be used together and further connect up to similar anchoring plates.
Connectors such as axial, lateral and transverse connectors are used while locking screws are often used to hold the linking device in place. Even further, the attachment elements could be devices added to the means to change the attachment position. A screw attachment or “offset”, for example, could be used. In the practice of this Invention, the devices and methods of this invention anticipate use when there are at least two and frequently three or more attachment elements corresponding to each surgical finking device. Multiple differing types of attachment elements could be used in a single installation. In addition, in the case of plates, the attachment elements may be installed after the shaping of the plate based on the shape of the plate rather than the other way around.
“Determining the relative location of each attachment elements and bony structure” refers to understanding the spatial relationship between the bony structure and any points of attachment so that a linking device such as a surgical rod can connect between the attachment points given the proper shape of the device. The relative location can be obtained with currently available image guidance devices such as three dimensional digitizers (such as the Polhemus Patriot) which can be used simply by engaging the device at several attachment points or along the bony structure and letting a computer in the device or elsewhere digitize the information. A partially manual method could be done, for example, by photographic means such as x-ray or regular photography and the spatial relationship determined away from the patient. Such a method might need a plurality of photographs but given this explanation is well within the skill in the art.
From the determination of the relative spatial location, the information can easily be digitized either automatically, as is the case with the three dimensional digitizer, or by entering hand calculated information into a computer or the like which then stores the information digitally. Either way, the information is converted into a digital format which a computer is capable of manipulating. Other devices could be optical, EM, image guidance systems, Shape Tape™, ultrasound, cat scans, and other radiographic devices. The key is that information needs to be gathered about spatial relationships and that information is capable of being obtained in a variety of ways. It is clear that the enumerated means or any other means which achieves the determination of the spatial relationship can be used by one skilled in the art. In some embodiments the expression “determining the relative location of each attachment means and bony structure” may also refer to making multiple determinations after adjustments to the installation or attachments means are made. One skilled in the art will know when and how to make such multiple determinations.
Since structures such as the shape of the patient's anatomy, bone structure, other devices in the area and the like may also need to be considered when determining the bend profile, the invention further contemplates that other structural information may also be created in a digital format for transfer or use by a computer. In one embodiment, the contour or structure can serve as the input by itself, such as with any plating system, where the input is the topography of the surface of the body part, with this input being used to guide shaping the implant. The attachment points are then driven through the plate after the plate is shaped, not prior, in as much as the information could be determined solely from surface anatomy and not the attachment points.
A computer such as a laptop, hand held device, desktop or other computer device can receive the relative location of the attachment elements and/or the bony structure in a digital format. The computer then programmed with the spatial information can determine the best way to shape, bend or the like, the linking device in order to fit the attachment elements. This determination of bends also takes into consideration the fact that other structures or the shape of the structure being attached to may be in the way. For example, in a spinal procedure, the shape of the vertebrae bones must also be considered.
The computer can be programmed to accommodate any number of parameters in determining the output or the final shape of the linking device. In this way, the goals of surgery can be assisted through the alteration of the shape of the linking device. Whereas in one embodiment, the shape dictated by the information above and not altered further could be used to create the linking device, further alterations in the device's shape can help to address, straighten, or alter abnormalities in alignment of the body part(s), create lessen or eliminate deformities, reduce or impose changes in alignment or the addition or elimination of stresses. It is possible to couple the changes in different planes or simply apply correction in one plane, rather than in another orthogonal plane. These modifications of the shaping information that is outputted can be obtained through various means—visual, anatomic, guided by radiographs (intraoperative, preoperative, positioning films, etc.), guided by the material properties of the linking device and the plasticity and/or relative location of the body part(s) being altered.
The computer need not have direct interaction with the device used for bending, in one embodiment. In other embodiments, it could input the information directly to the shaping device such as to a screen or other means such as to set the dials prior to shaping. The computer defines mathematically from the spatial location of the attachment means and the bony structure of the body, the heads of screws, surface of that bony body part and the like, a curve which approaches these points in three dimensional space within the requirements and capabilities of the selected surgical linking device. The determined information can be used to select a specific device, to place bends in an unbent or pre-bent device (or shape as needed) or to adjust the attachment means as desired. In addition, a number of different shape solutions could be accommodated such that the surgeon can use personal judgment in selecting the best shape solution.
The computer could further customize the output of the bend information. It could minimize the number of bends if desired (for example, with a quicker zigzag type design with greater bend angles at fewer bend points but with potentially greater stress risers). In other embodiments it could increase the number of bend locations to create a smoother design, since the more bend points the smoother the bend. One could limit the program or the device to specific angles so that all angles would be above, at or below a particular value. It could also limit the choices to incremental choices such as every 5 degrees of bend or rotation or distances to a few millimeters. A simple design connecting points could be achieved as could a more complex design as desired. The computer could determine the size of the device, can determine if the attachments means can be adjusted or added to with offsetting devices (and therefore increase or decrease the number of bends to attach the points). In one embodiment, the program can be used to see if the attachment points can be used with a pre-bent device either without modification or with adjustment of the attachment elements or the addition of spatial offsetting devices. The computer could also pick shapes that simplify the shape of the linking device or improve its biomechanics.
A first step in bending a linking device is to determine a bend location. The bend location is a point on the linking device where the bend will occur. It can be measured from a starting point, for example, 1.5 cm from the distal end of a surgical rod, or it can be determined by selecting from a set of fixed points on the device. For example, ruled markings every centimeter on a rod or other device could be marked as point 1, 2; or as 1 cm, 2 cm, etc., and the output of the computer deliver the fixed point. In another embodiment, the device is held in place and moved a given distance from the point held as a reference starting point.
The bend angle is the degrees that the device is bent away from a particular axis or plane. The bend can be accomplished as a single bend or it can be a multiplicity of bends as described above. In general, the bends will be from just greater than zero to 180 degrees off of straight. In many embodiments the bend angle is 90 degrees or less. In general, the maximum bend angle will be determined by a number of factors including the particular use, the surgeon's typical practice, the materials employed and the like. In addition, the angle of rotation off of the direction the device was going could be determined. So, for example, a surgical rod could be angled from zero to 360 degrees off of the zero axis of the original direction of the rod in addition to the bend. Thus a bend of, for example, 45 degrees with a rotation of 15 degrees, 2 centimeters from a starting point could define a particular bend output. The distance rotation and bend angle after determination is then delivered to a computer output. The output can be a paper output, a GUI (Graphic User Interface) or the like, such that a user can read the information and begin the process of bending a device. In one embodiment, the information is delivered directly to the bending device.
The means for placing a bend in the surgical linking device can, in one embodiment, be accomplished by one or more manual devices. Hand measuring distance, a rotation disk (as shown in
Surgically, the method for installing the surgical linking device on a body bony structure using the present invention, in one embodiment, could be started by placing at least two linking device attachment elements on the body structure at desired locations. Then the spatial relationship of the attachment elements could be determined in a digital manner. The digitized information would be transferred to (including calculated by) a computer which determines one or more of the following: one or more of the bend location, bend angle and bend rotation such that upon making the bends the device will fit the installed attachment means; it could also determine that one or more adjustments or additions to the position of the attachment elements could be made so that one could select a preformed or partially preformed device or that a device could be bent with fewer bends or no bends at all to fit the attachment elements. The computer calculates and delivers the information to a computer output. The output could be used to perform one or more functions during surgery, namely selecting a preformed or partially preformed surgical linking device; placing one or more bends as described above in the device or adjusting the position of the attachment elements or placing an addition to the attachment elements. After the proper selection and bending the surgical linking device is attached to the attachment elements.
The advantages and uses of the computerized means for determining the shape of a surgical linking device are several. It allows for the facilitated implantation of preformed whole rods or segments, and the ability to define the size and shape of the component pieces of a multi-component linking device. The linking device can aid a surgeon in the formation of the desired end result rather than the situation as confronted. The linking device can be designed and formed based on the intersection of this desired end result, the current position of the anatomy, and the location of the affixing points. This can be used to control the reduction of fractures and deformities by defining the amount to translation, rotation and or angular correction and altering the shape of a linking device to achieve the result. Further, it can be used to correct spondylolisthesis.
In another embodiment, this method could be used to define the resultant rod and thus help form, obtain and/or hold the correction required in performing an osteotomy or other type of corrective technique used in surgery. The linkage device can be implanted without any static load imparted to the body, or with a predefined load which can aid in adjusting deformities or set the location of a flexible system. One could determine how the anatomy moves or has moved or changed, and one can determine the amount of implant manipulation needed to gain the anatomical change desired. (For example, using x-rays in the OR and comparing them to images taken prior to surgery it is possible to figure out how much to alter the shape of the linkage device in order to achieve the straightness the patient can physically achieve by bending). In one embodiment, one linkage device could be made which would result in completely obtaining the desired end result. In another embodiment, successive intervening steps could be made (i.e.—multiple linkage devices incorporating successively greater amounts of deformity correction) to allow a slower, more gradual correction of the deformity. As all people's anatomy changes to some degree when lying in an OR table versus the upright position, the present invention could be used to account for this change.
Although in one embodiment, the rod can be formed quickly at the time of surgery, this is not required. One could immediately implant or defer the linking device implantation such as to let ongrowth or ingrowth occur then implant the formed rod in a delayed fashion. Further, this system is ideal to custom design large percutaneous implants. As well, it could be used to design a transverse connector that joins two or more linking devices or any other type of implant that could benefit from linking. Further, it can be used to accommodate an easy way to extend the linking device should this be required in the future, as the end configuration and angle of one embodiment of this device is know at the time of production and therefore this additional step (which is useful typically in a delayed fashion months to years later) could further be incorporated.
Bending is preferably accomplished manually at the surgical site by known means but in the alternative can be accomplished with novel devices of the present invention. Novel bending devices all comprise at least one lever, namely in the form of a bar or long arm that can be used to bend an object around a particular pivot point. With one lever the object to be bent is forced with the aid of the lever. In other embodiments, there is a pair of levers that can bend around a fulcrum that is a point or device that will aid in bending the device around.
Devices such as the French Bender have no means for determining any of the bend parameters discussed above when bending a surgical linking device. The present bending device includes means for determining at least two of those parameters. In one embodiment, the two parameters are location and bend angle. In another embodiment, the device measures location, bend angle and bend rotation. Each lever can have a handle disposed at a distal end to aid in grabbing the lever and leveraging it during use.
The means to measure the spatial parameters can measure a continuous location or angle or in other embodiments the measurement means can measure incrementally (i.e., non-continuously). So, for example, the location can measure in half centimeter, one centimeter or other increments, while the angle of bend or rotation could be measured in five degree increments or the like. Continuous measurement or click stop measurement could be used with each measuring means individually or mixed as desired. Greater accuracy may be obtained by continuous rather than incremental movement, but the choice would be up to the user and type of bender device employed.
In addition, the device may be capable of fixedly holding the linking device. In this manner the bending device can use another means to advance the linking device to the next bending location based on the continuous or click stopped measuring means. By fixedly holding the linking device, the measurements can be made accurately from a specific starting point adding a new starting point after each bend or using the original starting point. For example, a bend could be put at one centimeter and three centimeters from a starting point. In another embodiment, a bend is at the starting point and the next bend a fixed distance from the starting point. In another embodiment, by holding the linking device the linking device could be advanced based on ruled markings on the linking device instead of ruled markings on the bending device. Where on the bending device, there could be regular stop positions that are fixed or in the alternative, continuous adjustment of distance.
In general, one of the embodiments of the present invention is the process for producing bends in a surgical linking device which is comprised of two separate processes linked to each other. The first process is the digital process for determining the spatial parameters of one or more bends. The second process is the manual process of shaping a surgical linking device that applies the location, angle and rotation parameters determined in the first process. The complete linking of these two processes is facilitated by the introduction of the novel device of the present invention. The link can be the surgeon or other individual who takes the computer output and applies the result to the linking device, whether manually or by an automated bender or contouring device. For example, in another embodiment, the process or method for the determination of the linkage device, including selection, alteration of fixation points or location, etc., could be applied to any of a host of novel devices which would be necessary to help in the formation of the actual device. This would be ideal as materials used in orthopedic surgery change over time, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,614 issued Jun. 15, 2004 to Teitelbaum, et al.
Now referring to the figures,
In
The bend angle is measured by using angle gauge 85. Gauge 85 has ratchet teeth 86 spaced at regular intervals. Each ratchet stop represents five degrees of bend angle. Thus the user can bend a surgical rod 10 in five degree increments with the particular bend angle gauge 85 as the handles 71 and 72 are opened and closed. The bend rotation is controlled by a dial in the form of collet knob 90. By rotating collet knob 90 either clockwise or counterclockwise the user can set a particular rotation angle. The collet knob 90 is marked with regular interval notches 91 but this particular embodiment is continuously turn able and thus has infinite settings. Once a user turns knob 90 the user can set the knob 90 at a particular marking 91 or in between or the like to determine a particular angle rotation to a high degree of accuracy.
In this particular embodiment, once the rod 10 is locked in place with collet 75 if there is enough room on the lever 72 to move the slider 76 distally or proximally then the rod 10 can remain fixedly attached to col let 75. Should a longer area need to be bent, then the rod 10 can be unlocked moved and relocked and measurements start from the new position. Merely adding the positions together using the information supplied by the computer output would be an easy task with the present invention.
The next step 111 is the determination of the spatial relationship of the attachment elements into a digital format. This is done not only taking into account the position of attachment, but also taking into consideration any body structures which may intervene in the process. It would not be useful if a part of the vertebrae were in the way of a particular bend solution because the resulting bent rod would not fit the attachment points because of body structure interference. One skilled in the art could easily make the appropriate adjustments to the computer calculation based on the disclosure herein.
Next, the computer with the possession of the digital format determines the bend parameters and or the device attachment elements adjustments in step 112. This step may also include the selection of a particular linking device, the size it needs to be, or to select from a list of pre-bent linking devices. Once a linking device is selected from the computer output parameters, the linking device is then, if necessary, bent or shaped and or the attachment elements adjusted in step 113. After the appropriate bends have been made, the linking device is attached to the attachment elements in step 114.
Step 112 of the flowchart of
It is thus an object of the software program to derive a curve in each plane that fits the actual position of the attachment points in situ. In most cases, the curves in the sagittal and coronal planes are complex, meaning that the curves will typically incorporate multiple inflection points. Thus, it should be understood that a straight line or even an arcuate line will usually be inadequate to fit the true position of the attachment points, especially as the number of attachment points increase. It can be appreciated then that a first or second order polynomial expression for a curve in either plane will rarely be sufficient to model the three-dimensional representation. It can be further appreciated that an exact curve fit is unlikely, even if the polynomial is extended to a very high order.
The present invention accounts for these difficulties by incorporating an acceptable error between the actual three-dimensional location of an attachment point and its mathematical representation. This error is acceptable if kept within certain constraints because of the ability of the surgeon to manipulate the linking device, inherent characteristics of the attachment points and linkage device and even the spine when completing the spinal construct. For instance, where the attachment point is a bi-axial or multi-axial bone screw, the head of the screw can be toggled or pivoted so that the rod-receiving channel of the screw can be oriented to receive a linking device, such as a spinal rod. In addition, in many attachment devices, the interface point is the channel of a yoke or saddle-shaped structure, which provides variability to the angle between the rod and the head of the bone screw. In some devices the screw permits variation in vertical orientation relative to the bone. Each of these factors contributes to an acceptable error or tolerance. Other factors that may be considered in deriving the acceptable error include the material of the bone screw and the liking device, the cross-sectional shape of the linking member, the distance between attachment points, and the size of the bone screw and the linking member.
In accordance with the dual plane approach of the present embodiment, the error, or more appropriately tolerance, is established in each plane. For illustration purposes these tolerances can be designated ToleranceXY and Tolerance XZ. The ToleranceXY in one embodiment can be given by the expression:
ToleranceXY=tan(0.5*MaxHeadAngle)*(distance from the end of the fixed shaft of the screw to the ideal rod location).
The term “MaxHeadAngle” corresponds to the maximum angle through which the head of a bone screw can toggle or pivot. For a typical polyaxial screw, that angle can be in the range of 50°. The last term in the expression essentially corresponds to one side of a triangle indicating the depth of the saddle of the screw that can accommodate the linkage device.
The ToleranceXZ corresponds to the inherent amount of vertical translation that the screw head can accommodate. For example, a screw head having a deep yoke channel, the vertical translation may be as much as several millimeters and in some systems, especially in those in which the heads resemble posts, the number can be much more.
The two tolerance values, ToleranceXY and ToleranceXZ, are determined for each attachment point—i.e., for each bone screw. The tolerance values provide the measure for determining whether a particular polynomial representation of the rod shape is sufficient. Again, these tolerance values may take into account all or some of the factors discussed above.
In accordance with one aspect, the curve approximation for each plane starts with a first degree polynomial, the lowest order possible, and proceeds to increase in order until a curve is developed that satisfies all of the tolerance values. Thus, an initial approximation for a curve fit starts with the equation:
y=P
1
*x
1
+P
2,
A similar relationship is applied to find the value of z, namely the location of the curve in the sagittal, or front-to-back-plane. Further, in other embodiments of the present invention, other curve fitting algorithms are used to establish an equation for the linking device, all increasing in their complexity as they minimize the error between the determined curve and the attachment points.
Invariably, this first order polynomial will be insufficient to provide a curve linking all of the attachment points. The order of the polynomial is then successively increased according to the following equation:
y=P
1
*x
N
+P
2
x
N−1
+ . . . +P
N
x+P
N+1.
For each N-th order polynomial, the error in the two planes (XY and XZ) is calculated using a least squares approach. To determine this error, an IdealScrewPosition value is obtained for each attachment point, namely (Xscrew, Yscrew, Zscrew), which corresponds to the ideal location of the spinal rod within the head of the screw. In one embodiment, the Ideal Screw Position values may correspond to the digitized data for each screw in situ, in a manner as described above. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the two errors ErrorXY and ErrorXZ are defined by the distanced from the calculated curve function to the IdealScrewPosition at two points on either side of the Ideal Screw Position according to the following relationships:
If any of these error values exceeds the tolerance values (ImplantToleranceXY or ImplantToleranceXZ), then the order of the polynomial is increased and the least mean squared function and error calculations are re-run. In some embodiments, the tolerance values are augmented by some small dimension, for instance 1 mm, to help simplify the curve function and therefore eliminate bend points when the final bend curve is created. In other words, it is typically desirable to reduce the number of bends that are needed to fit the implant locations, especially when performed manually. When applied otherwise, for example in embodiments using non-manual bending devices or alternative materials that benefit from, reducing the number of bends may not be required or considered as advantageous to achieve a very smooth result. The augmented tolerance values can eliminate some bends that might otherwise arise with a tightly toleranced curve calculation.
In another aspect of the inventive procedure, steps may be taken to ensure that the rod interaction with the head of the screw falls within a predetermined angle. This predetermined angle is based on the value MaxHeadAngle, which is described above as the maximum permissible angle through which the head of the fastener/screw may toggle. It can be determined that the angle at which the rod crosses the head of the screw is defined by:
Rod2ScrewAngle=arcsin(Vscrew·Vrod),
In circumstances in which the rod crosses the head of the screw too acutely (i.e., outside the boundaries set by MaxHeadAngle), the generated curve is altered in the immediate region of the screw using a segmental rod morphology which crosses within the correct range. Specifically, the curve function is altered by an amount R so that the Rod2Screw Angle function is equal to half the value of MaxHeadAngle. In other words,
V
required rod
=V
rod+(R×Vscrew), and
(½×MaxHeadAngle)=arcsin(Vscrew·Vrequired rod).
The curve is then altered across the small segment adjacent the particular screw as follows:
D=V
required rod×(x2−x1);
y
1new
=y
1
+D
Y
2new
=y
2
−D.
It is also contemplated that in using the least mean square approach described above to determine the rod curve, some regions of the resultant rod may conflict with the surrounding anatomy. In extreme situations, this competition can be eliminated in part by simply defining any anatomical points of concern at the same time that screw positions are determined. In other words, the anatomy that must be avoided can be defined ab initio along with the locations of the several bone fasteners/screws.
However, in the typical case, no strange anatomy is encountered. In this instance, it is common for the bone fastener head to project from the bony anatomy in to which it is anchored by a certain distance, usually about 1 cm. When the bend curve is defined, all that is required is that the resulting rod position fall within a “safe region” which can be pre-defined as a few millimeters above and below a straight line connecting successive IdealScrewPositions. When the curve function would result in the calculated rod position falling outside this “safe region”, the curve is altered towards the straight line. In one specific embodiment, if any point along the calculated curve that extends above a line defined by the slope M of a line connecting screws at positions (Xscrew1, Yscrew1, Zscrew1) and (Xscrew2, Yscrew2, Zscrew2) exceeds a specified amount, the whole section of the curve (Xcurve1, Ycurve1, Zcurve1) to (XcurveN, YcurveN, ZcurveN) between the two screw positions is brought closer the straight line. Thus,
M=(zscrew2−zscrew1)/(xscrew2−xscrew1); and
Zcurve(1 to N)=½×(zcurve(1 to N)+zcurve1+[0 M 2M . . . (N−1)M]).
In yet another embodiment, additional smoothing functions may be applied to further smooth the overall shape of the resultant linkage device.
By way of example,
y=P
1
*x
N
+P
2
*x
N−1
. . . P
N
*x+P
N+1.
According to the specific embodiment, the coefficients for each successive order of the polynomial are:
The polynomial expression for the curve fitting in the sagittal or XZ plane is the same as that given above the XY plane, with the substitution of the variable z in lieu of the variable y. For the specific example, the comparison of the calculated curve to the ideal screw position is shown in
It can be noted that the curve approximation for the coronal XY plane required an 8th order polynomial, while the approximation for the sagittal XZ plane only required a 6th order polynomial. It should be understood that the order of the polynomial necessary to closely approximate the ideal screw positions in the two planes will frequently be different.
For the XZ curve,
Thus, using the curve smoothing approach described above, the curve between the first two screw locations is flattened significantly, while the curve between the last two screw locations is flattened slightly. In both cases, the resulting smoothed curve more closely follows the slope M of a line segment passing through the four screw locations.
With the smoothed curve approximations for the XY and XZ planes, the next step is to determine where and how to bend a straight rod to achieve the desired shape. According to one aspect of the present invention, a computer-based system is provided that generates a sequence of bend instructions. In the preferred embodiment, these instructions are adapted to the particular bending tool, such as the tool 70 described above in connection with
In order to accommodate the bending tool, the system of the present invention seeks to break down the curve function generated above into manageable line segments that can be readily handled by the bender. Of course, each bending tool has its own inherent tolerances regarding the nature of the bends that it is capable of making. For instance, some bending tools can only make bends in a rod that are separated by 1-2 cm. In accordance with the present illustrate embodiment, the bending tool can accept bends in ½ cm increments. Thus, the software of the present system can determine the necessary bend angles at these ½ cm increments. In accordance with one embodiment, the software does generate bend data for the minimum permissible increment, in this case ½ cm. However, it is expected that the making a bend every ½ cm is too cumbersome and time consuming, and generally not necessary to produce a well-contoured rod for implantation. In many cases, the surgeon will prefer a “simple” bend—i.e., one with the fewest number of bend points—versus a “smooth” bend—i.e., one that produces a smoothly contoured rod and that necessarily requires more bend points. In one feature of the invention, a GUI allows the surgeon to determine the bend type—simple or smooth—and in some embodiments to select a sliding scale between simplest and smoothest bend type.
In determining the “simplest” bend, the object is to eliminate as many bend points as possible without compromising the overall shape of the rod and the ability of the contoured rod to mate with the implanted bone screws. In a first step, the bend point with the smallest bend angle is eliminated. In alternative embodiments, other bend points are chosen first, either arbitrarily, to spread the bend points apart or to limit the number and size of bends at or near an attachment point and the like. Regardless, the remaining adjacent bend points are then connected with a straight line. However, not all small bend angle points can be eliminated. The present system thus discriminates in identifying small bend angle points that cannot be eliminated where eliminating the particular point would:
It can be appreciated that for the “simplest” bend case, the maximum permitted bend angle may be larger than for the “smoothest” bend case. Conversely, the smoother bend case will necessarily include more intervening bend points along the length of the rod.
An exemplary bend reduction process is depicted in the sequence of
As also shown in
As explained above, the process of reducing the number of bends is based in part on the maximum desired bend angle. In the final version shown in
It can also be appreciated that the present system generates the series of bend point modifications depicted in the sequence of
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a GUI is provided for the surgeon to input data and make selections to produce bend data. It is understood that the surgical objects to be achieved by the bent linking device or rod may determine the eventual nature of the bend data. Such surgical objectives include to address, straighten, or alter abnormalities in alignment of the body part(s) of the patient; create, lessen or eliminate deformities; reduce or impose changes in alignment; or the addition or elimination of stresses.
The GUI in one specific embodiment is illustrated in
The x, y, z location for the implanted screws is input through the GUI, resulting in the screw location data shown In the data box adjacent the “Get Point” button shown in
The probe 200 is configured to mate with the head 192 of a fastener, such as the poly-axial fastener 190 shown in
The tip 202 has a length sufficient to be fully seated within the recess 194 (or the recess 294 of the screw 290 shown in
A probe 210 is shown in
The distal end 213 of the central hub 212 may be configured to engage the upper surface of the head 192 of the bone screw. Alternatively, the hub and wings may define a perimeter channel 218 that is configured to contact the top of the arms 196 of the yoke 195. In either case, the distal end 213 or the channel 218 stabilize the probe 210 when it engages the fastener 190 to ensure an accurate angular orientation of the probe. It can be appreciated that in this embodiment, the probe 210 may be keyed off the position and orientation of the yoke 195, rather than the screw head 192. In this case, the distal end 213 of the central hub is sized to provide clearance from the upper surface of the head.
It is contemplated that the probes 200 and 210 can be provided in configurations for mating with specific fastener types. Moreover, the length of the probe from the tip 202 to the proximal end of the shaft 206 of the probe 200 (or from the distal end 213 or channel 218 to the end of the shaft 216 in the embodiment of
The probes 200,210 may be formed of any biocompatible material that is sufficiently rigid to resist bending during the digitization process. Where the probe incorporates a “tool” feature, such as the tip configuration shown in
Returning to
After all of the screw location data has been entered, the system calculates the bend data based upon the algorithms described above and the surgeon's selection of bend type. The output on the GUI is a sequence of bend data, as shown in
Once the bend points are established, the present system translates the bend point data into the instructions for the bending tool. As indicated above, for the tool 70 described herein, only three data points are necessary-all derived from the distance from the last bend, the rotation of the rod compared to the bend angle of the last bend and the amount of the bend. These values can be obtained from the relationships described below.
The distance between bends is given by the expression ((x2−x1)2+(y2−y1)2+(z2−z2)2)1/2. The location of the bends is a cumulative summation of the distances between bend points.
The rotation between bends can be determined by the angle between the normal to planes containing successive bend points. For instance, for the rotation between bend 2 and bend 3, a determination is made of the angle between the normal to the plane N123 containing the three bend points x1y1z1, x2y2z2, and x3y3z3 and the plane N234 containing the three bend points x2y2z2, x3y3z3, and x4y4z4. The rotation between these bends is then represented by the arc-cosine of the dot product of N123 and N234.
The amount of the bend is the angle between the vectors containing the bend points. Thus for the example with bend 2 and bend 3, the amount of the bend is given by the arc-cosine of the dot product of the vectors V12 and V23.
It is contemplated that the amount of the bend at each bend point may be altered to account for springback of the material. For a typical case the springback will be derived from a linear function, approximated as 14 degrees for a 5.5 mm stainless steel rod, or 13 degrees for a 5.5 mm titanium rod, based on the elasticity of the two materials.
The manner in which the bend data is implemented using the bending tool 70 is depicted in
The bend rotation value of “300” in the bend data is implemented by rotating the collet knob 90 to the appropriate indicia 90a. Rotating the collet knob rotates the rod 10 relative to the bending dies 81, 82, as described in more detail above. Finally, the bend magnitude or angle corresponding to the value “I” in the bend data, is set using the angle gauge 85. In addition to the ratchet teeth 86 used to establish the 5 degree angle increments, the angle gauge 85 may incorporate indicia 86a corresponding to the bend values “F”-“I” in the bend data of the present illustration. The gauge may include many more incremental bend angle indicia, ranging from “A” to “N” in the embodiment illustrated in
The second bend is accomplished as shown in
In some procedures the spine is instrumented with multiple linking devices. For instance, attachment elements and linking elongated rods may be positioned on either side of the spinous processes. The two rods are typically interconnected using transverse connectors to provide a rigid “scaffold” for supporting the spine. The method described above can be used to generate appropriately shaped rods to be positioned on either side of the spinal mid line. The bend curves calculated for each rod may be used to determine the size of any transverse connectors or linking devices that may be utilized.
The above examples and particular embodiment are not intended to limit the claims which follow. A variety of changes to the gauges, levers and the device and method of determining the shaping parameters is within the scope of the present invention.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/898,271 filed on Aug. 29, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/663,817 filed on Oct. 25, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/496,628 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,500,630) filed on Apr. 25, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/049,183 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,636,181), filed on Oct. 8, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/417,937 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,549,888), filed on Apr. 3, 2009, which is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/246,581 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,957,831), filed on Oct. 7, 2008, which is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/098,375 (abandoned), filed on Apr. 4, 2008, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference as if set forth in their entirety herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17898271 | Aug 2022 | US |
| Child | 18587301 | US | |
| Parent | 16663817 | Oct 2019 | US |
| Child | 17898271 | US | |
| Parent | 15496628 | Apr 2017 | US |
| Child | 16663817 | US | |
| Parent | 14049183 | Oct 2013 | US |
| Child | 15496628 | US | |
| Parent | 12417937 | Apr 2009 | US |
| Child | 14049183 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12246581 | Oct 2008 | US |
| Child | 12417937 | US | |
| Parent | 12098375 | Apr 2008 | US |
| Child | 12246581 | US |
