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US 10,499,898 B2Granted
NIR/red light for lateral neuroprotection
AssigneeDePuy Synthes Products, Inc.
InventorsThomas M. DiMauro, William Horton
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The use of red or near infrared light upon neurons of the lumbar plexus that are in distress due to retraction-induced ischemia. The surgeon may protect nerves made ischemic in the surgery by: a) making an incision in a patient, b) inserting an access device into the patient through the incision to at least partially create a path to a spine of the patient, and c) irradiating nervous tissue adjacent the path with an amount of NIR or red light effective to provide neuroprotection.
Claims12
A surgical method, comprising:
- making an incision in a patient,
- inserting a retractor into the patient through the incision to provide a working channel through tissue of the patient, the retractor being inserted such that first and second components of the retractor are in contact with tissue of the patient, the first and second components being movable with respect to one another,
- irradiating nervous tissue of the patient adjacent to the retractor using a light delivery device inserted through the working channel,
- visualizing the nervous tissue using an endoscope connected to the light delivery device,
- moving the first and second components of the retractor relative to one another to retract the nervous tissue, and
- monitoring a health or status of the nervous tissue using an electrode of the second component, the electrode being in electrical connection with a neuromonitoring system.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.