System And Method For Vertebral Load And Location Sensing

• US 20130079679A1
• Filed: 09/23/2011
• Published: 03/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Howmedica Osteonics Corp. (Stryker Corporation)
• Original Assignee: OrthoSensor, Inc (Stryker Corporation)
• Inventors: Roche, Martin, Boillot, Marc, Stein, Marc
• Granted Patent: US 9,839,374 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/594
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/103 Detecting, measuring or recording devices for testing the shape, pattern, colour, size or movement of the body or parts thereof, for diagnostic purposes A61B5/08 takes precedence; measuring aids for tailors A41H1/00; measuring instruments specially adapted for dentistry A61C19/04
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1036 Measuring load distribution, e.g. podologic studies
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1071 measuring angles, e.g. using goniometers A61B5/1123 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4566 Evaluating the spine A61B5/4561 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/686 Permanently implanted devices, e.g. pacemakers, other stimulators, biochips A61B5/6861 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/4455 for the fusion of spinal bodies, e.g. intervertebral fusion of adjacent spinal bodies, e.g. fusion cages intervertebral discs A61F2/442
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/4611 of spinal prostheses
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/2835 Bone graft implants for filling a bony defect or an endoprosthesis cavity, e.g. by synthetic material or biological material
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30011 differing in porosity
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30593 hollow
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/3085 with a threaded, e.g. self-tapping, bone-engaging surface, e.g. external surface
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2310/00023 Titanium or titanium-based alloys, e.g. Ti-Ni alloys

Abstract

A load balance and alignment system is provided to assess load forces on the vertebra in conjunction with overall spinal alignment. The system includes a spine instrument having an electronic assembly and a sensorized head. The sensorized head can be inserted between vertebra and report vertebral conditions such as force, pressure, orientation and edge loading. A GUI is therewith provided to show where the spine instrument is positioned relative to vertebral bodies as the instrument is placed in the inter-vertebral space. The system can report optimal prosthetic size and placement in view of the sensed load and location parameters including optional orientation, rotation and insertion angle along a determined insert trajectory.

Claims

1. A spinal measurement system comprising:

a receiver;

a plurality of wands; and

a load sensor to assess inter-vertebral force;

wherein the plurality of wands communicate with the receiver to determine positional information that includes one of an orientation, rotation, angle, and location of vertebra associated with an inter-vertebral force determined there between.

2. The system of claim 1 where the receiver comprises one or more sensors, a processor, and an interface and where the processor interprets sensory signals from the at least one wand received via the one or more sensors and transmits the positional information to a remote system for display.

3. The system of claim 2 where the plurality of wands each include a controller operatively coupled to one or more sensors and where the one or more sensors transmits sensory signals in response to a directive by the controller.

4. The system of claim 3 where the one or more sensors of the receiver and the plurality of wands are selected from the group comprising optical sensors, ultrasonic sensors and magnetic sensors.

5. The system of claim 3 where the load sensor is coupled to a sensored head.

6. The system of claim 5 further including:

a shaft having the sensored head coupled to a distal end thereof; and

a handle coupled to the proximal end of the shaft.

7. The system of claim 6 further including electronic circuitry housed towards the proximal end of the shaft where electronic circuitry includes logic circuitry, an accelerometer, and communication circuitry and where the electronic circuitry is operatively coupled to the load sensor.

8. The system of claim 7 where the sensored head comprises a plurality of load sensors for locating a position of applied load on the sensored head.

9. The system of claim 8 where a wand is coupled to the sensored head to measure at least one of orientation, rotation, angle, and location.

10. The system of claim 1 where data from the receiver, plurality of wands, and load sensor is wirelessly transmitted to a remote system for displaying quantitative measurements therefrom.

11. The system of claim 1 where one of the receiver, the plurality of wands, or the load sensor is disposed of after use.

12. A load balance and location system comprising:

a spinal alignment system using ultrasonic signals to measure position in three-dimensional space;

a spinal instrument with a sensored head to measure a load when the sensored head is inserted in a spinal region; and

a remote system in communication with the spinal alignment system and the spinal instrument to display quantitative measurements therefrom.

13. The load balance and location system of claim 12 where the spinal alignment system and the spinal instrument are within the surgical field of an operating room.

14. The load balance and location system of claim 13 where the spinal alignment system or the spinal instrument are disposable after use.

15. The load balance and location system of claim 14 where the alignment system comprises:

a receiver having a plurality of ultrasonic transducers; and

a plurality of wands having a plurality of ultrasonic transducers.

16. The load balance and location system of claim 15 where the spinal instrument comprises:

a shaft coupled to the sensored head where the sensored head is coupled to the distal end of the shaft;

a handle at the proximal end of the shaft; and

electronic circuitry housed towards the proximal end of the shaft where electronic circuitry includes logic circuitry, an accelerometer, and communication circuitry and where the electronic circuitry is operatively coupled to the load sensor.

17. A method of installing a component in the muscular-skeletal system comprising the steps of:

inserting a sensored head in the muscular-skeletal system;

measuring load applied by the muscular-skeletal to the sensored head;

measuring at least one of orientation, rotation, angle, or position of the inserted sensored head in the muscular-skeletal system;

aligning the component to the muscular skeletal system with the at least one measured orientation, rotation, angle, or position; and

inserting the component in the muscular-skeletal system such that the load on the component is approximately equal to the measured load.

18. The method of claim 17 further including a step of measuring a position of load applied to the sensored head.

19. The method of claim 18 further including the steps of:

displaying load and position of load data from the sensored head on a remote system in real-time; and

displaying orientation, rotation, angle, or position on the remote system in real-time.

20. The method of claim 19 further including a step of disposing of at least the sensored head after a procedure.