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US 11,627,994 B1Granted
Smart and autonomous growing rod for treating spinal deformities
AssigneeGlobus Medical, Inc.
InventorsMatthew McClelland, Jeff Nichols
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An implantable growing rod assembly adapted to be secured along a length of a spine for treating deformities of the spine. The assembly includes a housing, a fixed rod extending along a longitudinal axis away from the housing, and an expansion rod extendible from the housing along the longitudinal axis. A driver assembly is fixed to the housing and adapted to translate the expansion rod along the longitudinal axis. Examples of the implantable growing rod assembly include a smart growing system, and an autonomous growing rod system.
Claims18
An implantable growing rod assembly comprising:
- a bevel gear assembly disposed in a housing and adapted to translate an expansion rod along a longitudinal axis away from the housing, wherein the bevel gear assembly comprises:
- a bevel pinion gear having a first set of teeth at an upper end and a first set of ratcheting teeth at a bottom end,
- a lock gear disposed below and coaxial to the bevel pinion gear, wherein the lock gear includes a second set of teeth at a bottom end and a second set of ratcheting teeth at an upper end, the second set of ratcheting teeth configured to mesh with the first set of ratcheting teeth;
- and
- a bevel gear perpendicular to the bevel pinion gear and the lock gear, wherein the bevel gear includes a third set of teeth that mesh with the first set of teeth of the bevel pinion gear such that rotation of the bevel pinion gear causes translation of the expansion rod along the longitudinal axis,
- wherein the lock gear is moveable between a first position, in which the first and second sets of ratcheting teeth are in engagement and the second and third sets of teeth are in engagement, and a second position, in which the first and second sets of ratcheting teeth are not in engagement and the second and third sets of teeth are not in engagement,
- a first piezoelectric sensor disposed between the bevel gear and the expansion rod, and behind the third set of teeth for measuring a tension force on the expansion rod.
4 more elements
An implantable growing rod assembly comprising:
- a bevel gear assembly disposed in a housing and adapted to translate an expansion rod along a longitudinal axis away from the housing, wherein the bevel gear assembly comprises:
- a bevel pinion gear having a first set of teeth at an upper end and a first set of ratcheting teeth at a bottom end,
- a bevel gear perpendicular to the bevel pinion gear, wherein the bevel gear includes a second set of teeth that mesh with the first set of teeth of the bevel pinion gear such that rotation of the bevel pinion gear causes translation of the expansion rod along the longitudinal axis,
- a bevel gear bushing with a first side and a second side disposed in the housing for guiding the expansion rod along the longitudinal axis, and
- a first piezoelectric sensor disposed on the first side between the bevel gear and the expansion rod, and behind the second set of teeth for measuring a tension force between the bevel gear bushing and the expansion rod.
2 more elements
An implantable growing rod assembly comprising:
- a bevel gear assembly disposed in a housing and adapted to translate an expansion rod along a longitudinal axis away from the housing, wherein the bevel gear assembly comprises:
- a bevel pinion gear having a first set of teeth at an upper end and a first set of ratcheting teeth at a bottom end,
- a bevel gear perpendicular to the bevel pinion gear, wherein the bevel gear includes a second set of teeth that mesh with the first set of teeth of the bevel pinion gear such that rotation of the bevel pinion gear causes translation of the expansion rod along the longitudinal axis,
- a bevel gear bushing with a first side and a second side disposed in the housing for guiding the expansion rod along the longitudinal axis,
- a first piezoelectric sensor disposed on the first side for measuring a tension force between the bevel gear bushing and the expansion rod,
- a second piezoelectric sensor disposed on the second side for measuring a compression force between the bevel gear bushing and the expansion rod, and
- an implantable motor control circuit with a DC motor with drive output and a torsion sensor coupled therewith, the drive output rotatably coupled to the bevel gear and a monitoring circuit for monitoring readings from the torsion sensor coupled with the DC motor and readings from the first piezoelectric sensor and the second piezoelectric sensor.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.