Bone treatment systems and methods
First Claim
1. A bone treatment system comprising:
- a bone fill material injector configured to be at least partially introduced into a bone;
a handle comprising a flow passageway for a flow of bone fill material, and a thermal energy emitter disposed within the handle, the handle operatively coupled to the injector, the thermal energy emitter configured for delivering energy to the flow of the bone fill material within the flow passageway, wherein the flow passageway extends through the handle in a first direction and curves and extends in a second direction, substantially perpendicular to the first direction, forming a non-linear pathway through the handle, and wherein the thermal energy emitter at least partially encompasses a portion of the flow passageway and is disposed along the second direction near an outlet of the handle;
a sensor system, wherein the sensor system comprises a sensor configured to measure a rate of the flow of the bone fill material within the flow passageway; and
an electronic controller configured to modulate the delivery of the energy from the thermal energy emitter to the flow of the bone fill material based at least in part on a rate measurement from the sensor to achieve a desired bone fill material viscosity.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for treating vertebral compression fractures are discussed. In an embodiment, a method includes mixing bone cement precursors thereby causing a first chemical curing reaction characterized by a first time-viscosity profile, controllably applying energy to the bone cement from an external source to modify the first time-viscosity profile to a second time-viscosity profile, and injecting the cement into bone at a substantially constant viscosity greater than about 1000 Pa·s to greater than about 5000 Pa·s over an extended working time. In another embodiment, a bone cement injector system is provided that includes a first handle component that is detachably coupled to a second sleeve component having a distal end for positioning in bone and a flow channel extending through the first and second components. The system includes first and second thermal energy emitters for delivering energy to bone cement flows in a flow channel portion in the first and second components, respectively.
190 Citations
24 Claims
-
1. A bone treatment system comprising:
-
a bone fill material injector configured to be at least partially introduced into a bone; a handle comprising a flow passageway for a flow of bone fill material, and a thermal energy emitter disposed within the handle, the handle operatively coupled to the injector, the thermal energy emitter configured for delivering energy to the flow of the bone fill material within the flow passageway, wherein the flow passageway extends through the handle in a first direction and curves and extends in a second direction, substantially perpendicular to the first direction, forming a non-linear pathway through the handle, and wherein the thermal energy emitter at least partially encompasses a portion of the flow passageway and is disposed along the second direction near an outlet of the handle; a sensor system, wherein the sensor system comprises a sensor configured to measure a rate of the flow of the bone fill material within the flow passageway; and an electronic controller configured to modulate the delivery of the energy from the thermal energy emitter to the flow of the bone fill material based at least in part on a rate measurement from the sensor to achieve a desired bone fill material viscosity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-
-
20. A bone treatment system, comprising:
-
a handle component in communication with one or more energy sources, wherein an energy emitter is disposed within the handle component; a sleeve component having a proximal portion attached to the handle component and a distal end configured for positioning in a bone, the handle and sleeve components defining a flow channel extending therethrough for a flow of bone fill material, wherein the flow channel extends through the handle in a first direction and curves and extends in a second direction, substantially perpendicular to the first direction, forming a non-linear pathway through the handle, and wherein the energy emitter at least partially encompasses a portion of the flow channel and is disposed along the second direction near an outlet of the handle; the energy emitter configured for delivering energy to the bone fill material flow in a flow channel portion in the handle component; a sensor configured to measure the flow of the bone fill material within the flow channel; and a control system configured to alter the viscosity of the bone fill material based at least in part on a sensed flow. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
-
Specification