Systems for off-axis treatment of a vertebral body

Inventors

Brockman, Christopher Scott • Harshman, Gabriel James

Assignees

Stryker Corp

Abstract

Systems for off-axis a vertebral body. A steerable assembly includes a steering instrument, a steering handle, and a trigger. A deflectable portion of the steering instrument and a distal portion of a deformable conduit are configured to be directed through and beyond the access cannula. A control surface of the trigger is configured to receive a pull or squeeze input to pivot the trigger to move the steering instrument to an operating mode in which increased tension on the steering instrument curves the deflectable portion of the steering instrument and the distal portion of the deformable conduit. A mounting block may be fixed within the steering handle, and a proximal end of the shaft may be fixed to the mounting block. The steering handle includes a guide movably supported within a void and coupled to the control element. A rear surface of the trigger engages the guide.

Core Innovation

The patent describes a system for treating a vertebral body using an access cannula, a steerable assembly, and a deformable conduit assembly. A steering instrument is removably disposed within the deformable conduit, and a deflectable portion of the steering instrument, together with a distal portion of the deformable conduit, is configured to be directed through and beyond a distal end of the access cannula to within the vertebral body. The system includes a steering handle and a trigger coupled to the steering handle and the steering instrument.

The core mechanism pivots the trigger relative to the steering handle to move the steering instrument to an operating mode. Increased tension on the steering instrument curves the deflectable portion of the steering instrument and the distal portion of the deformable conduit into a curved disposition within the vertebral body. In a related implementation, the trigger comprises a rear surface that engages a guide, and movement of the guide induces tension in a control element.

A further functional refinement is introduced with a deformable conduit that can be curved and then retracted relative to an additional instrument while the additional instrument is axially fixed relative to the access cannula. In this arrangement, the deformable conduit moves axially relative to the access cannula without moving the additional instrument. The curved and axially movable deformable conduit is used to enable delivery and exposure of expandable members and/or to support implant delivery or aspiration within the vertebral body.

Claims Coverage

The independent claims are clm-00001, clm-00011, and clm-00017, and they define three main inventive feature sets: trigger-driven pivoting to apply increased tension for curvature, trigger rear-surface engagement with a guide and control element tensioning, and a curved deformable conduit with axial retraction relative to an axially fixed additional instrument.

Across the independent claims, the coverage centers on a trigger-actuated mechanism that pivots or actuates to produce increased tension that curves a deflectable steering portion and a distal portion of a deformable conduit within a vertebral body, an implementation in which trigger rear-surface engagement with a movably supported guide induces tension in a control element, and an arrangement in which the curved deformable conduit can be retracted axially relative to an axially fixed additional instrument.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications