Spine Tool For Measuring Vertebral Load and Position of Load

• US 20130079790A1
• 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: Stein, Marc, Chase, Andrew U.
• Granted Patent: US 8,777,877 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/102
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/025 Joint distractors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/86 Pins or screws or threaded wires; nuts therefor A61B17/72 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/885 Tools for expanding or compacting bones or discs or cavities therein A61B17/8805, A61B17/7097 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00221 with wireless transmission of data, e.g. by infrared radiation or radiowaves
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00473 Distal part, e.g. tip or head A61B2017/00464 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00477 Coupling A61B2017/0046 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00734 battery operated
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/0256 for the spine
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2048 using an accelerometer or inertia sensor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/064 for measuring force, pressure or mechanical tension
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/20 Surgical navigation systems; Devices for tracking or guiding surgical instruments, e.g. for frameless stereotaxis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/25 User interfaces for surgical systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/06 Measuring instruments not otherwise provided for
• 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 2/4657 Measuring instruments used for implanting artificial joints for surgical instruments A61B90/06
• 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 2002/4666 : for measuring force, pressure or mechanical tension
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2310/00023 : Titanium or titanium-based alloys, e.g. Ti-Ni alloys

Abstract

A spine measurement system includes at least one spinal instrument and a remote system. The spinal instrument comprises a handle, a shaft, an accelerometer, a sensored head, and an electronic assembly. The sensored head includes one or more sensors that are operatively coupled to the electronic assembly. The sensored head can be inserted between vertebra and report vertebral conditions such as force, pressure, orientation and edge loading. A GUI of remote system can report position via the accelerometer to show spinal instrument 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. An insertion measurement system for the muscular-skeletal system comprising:

a measurement instrument including;

a shaft;

a handle coupled to the proximal end of the shaft;

a sensored head coupled to a distal end of the shaft for insertion into the muscular-skeletal system; and

electronic circuitry operatively coupled to the sensored head located in proximity to the handle.

2. The system of claim 1 where the sensored head includes a sensor for measuring a force, pressure, or load applied thereto.

3. The system of claim 2 where the sensored head comprises:

a first support structure having an external surface;

a second support structure having an external surface; and

a plurality of load sensors coupled to the first and second support structures.

4. The system of claim 3 where the external surfaces of the first and second support structure are convex.

5. The system of claim 3 where the plurality of load sensors are piezo-resistive sensors.

6. The system of claim 3 where a load plate couples to the plurality of load sensors.

7. The system of claim 3 further including an interconnect coupling the electronic circuitry to the plurality of sensors where the interconnect couples through a lengthwise passage in the shaft.

8. The system of claim 7 where the electronic circuitry is housed in the handle.

9. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

an insert instrument including;

a shaft;

a tip coupled to the distal end of the shaft;

an attach/release mechanism coupled to a proximal end of the shaft;

a handle coupled to the shaft; and

an electronic assembly.

10. The system of claim 9 further including a remote system having a display for receiving data from either the measurement instrument or the insert instrument.

11. A spine measurement system for an operating room comprising:

a plurality of spinal instruments where each spinal instrument has a sensored head for measuring load, a handle to direct the sensored head in a spinal region, and where the sensored heads of the plurality of measurement instruments differ in height and length; and

a remote system having a display for receiving data from one of the plurality of measurement instruments.

12. The system of claim 11 further including an insert instrument having at least one having at least one accelerometer for measuring location and position.

13. The system of claim 11 where the plurality of spinal instruments measure a position of an applied load to the sensored head.

14. The system of claim 11 where each of the plurality of spinal instruments comprises:

a shaft;

the handle coupled to the proximal end of the shaft;

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

electronic circuitry operatively coupled to the sensored head located in the handle;

interconnect coupling the electronic circuitry to the sensored head where the interconnect couples through a lengthwise passage in the shaft.

15. The system of claim 14 where the electronic circuitry includes a power source.

16. The system of claim 12 where the insert instrument comprises:

a shaft;

a tip coupled to the distal end of the shaft;

an attach/release mechanism coupled to a proximal end of the shaft;

a handle coupled to the shaft;

the at least one sensor; and

electronic circuitry for measuring position and location.

17. A method of providing spinal instruments to an operating room comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of spinal instruments each within an individual sterilized package where the plurality of spinal instruments each have a different sensored head height or length;

selecting at least one of the plurality of spinal instruments for distracting and measuring a parameter of a spinal region; and

removing a selected spinal instrument from a sterilized package; and

enabling the selected spinal instrument for measuring a parameter.

18. The method of claim 17 further including the steps of:

disposing of used spinal instruments after a procedure; and

replacing spinal instruments disposed of after the procedure.

19. The method of claim 17 further including a step of coupling the selected spinal instrument to a remote system within the operating room for presenting quantitative measured data.

20. The method of claim 17 further including the steps of:

distracting the spinal region with a passive spinal instrument having a predetermined height;

removing the passive spinal instrument;

inserting the selected spinal instrument where the selected spinal instrument has the predetermined height; and

measuring the parameter of the spinal region.