Instruments for guiding placement of implants

Inventors

Patel, Shyam • Kuntz, Kyle

Assignees

Cutting Edge Spine LLC

Abstract

A surgical guide assembly for selecting a target site for insertion of a fixation implant, the surgical guide used in conjunction with fluoroscopy or other x-ray-based imaging for selecting a target site into bone based upon a rendered radiographic image of the bone. The guide includes a planar radiolucent guide tool with radiopaque markers and seats for accommodating securement components that can be engaged in apertures within securement seats of the radiolucent guide tool and contacted or positioned adjacent target bone for establishing a path to a bone target to guide the placement of an implant relative to a reference point, such as a first implant. In the guide tool may include visual indicia corresponding with one or more of the securement seats.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to a radiolucent surgical guide tool for fluoroscopy-based targeting of fixation implant insertion in bone. The guide tool includes a reference securement seat and a plurality of target path securement seats arranged at different fixed distances from the reference securement seat, and each seat comprises an aperture arranged to receive tubular securement components.

The guide assembly further comprises an array of radiopaque markers arranged to correspond with the fixed distances of the target path securement seats from the reference securement seat. In the disclosed configurations, the guide tool or a portion of the guide tool comprises a movable part that comprises the array of radiopaque markers, and the array is separately movable relative to the radiolucent guide tool and/or an inserted securement component.

Selection is enabled by orientation of at least one radiopaque marker over the bone target so that a radiopaque marker aligns over a target site in bone for receiving an implant. A first securement component may be inserted into a selected reference securement seat to establish a reference path relative to bone, and a securement component may be fixed into a target path securement seat corresponding to the selected radiopaque marker to establish the selected target path for insertion of a fixation implant into the target site in the bone.

Claims Coverage

The partial set includes four independent claims. Across these claims, the coverage is centered on a radiolucent guide tool with a reference securement seat and multiple target path securement seats at fixed distances, an array of radiopaque markers corresponding to those fixed distances, and selection enabled by separately movable radiopaque markers oriented over a bone target.

Across the independent claims, the inventive concept is a radiolucent surgical guide assembly that establishes insertion paths using a reference securement seat and multiple target path securement seats at fixed distances, together with an array of radiopaque markers corresponding to those distances. The selection of a target path is enabled by separately movable radiopaque markers so that orienting a marker over a bone target identifies and enables fixing a tubular securement component into a corresponding target path securement seat.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications

No documented applications found