PATENTS
A Method And Apparatus For An Implantable Inertial-Based Sensing System For Real-Time, In Vivo Detection Of Spinal Pseudarthrosis And Adjacent Segment Motion
Patent Number: US 2011/0295159 Al
Date Filed: December 1, 2011
Country Filed In: USA
Product Application: VBMS Vertebral Body Motion Sensor
Description:
A vertebral processor designed to collect and interpret data from multiple surgically implanted accelerometers. Each accelerometer is surgically implanted into a vertebra of a patient utilizing a bone screw. Additional accelerometers are implanted in adjacent vertebrae. The data from the accelerometers is compared by an algorithm to determine the relative movement of the accelerometers implanted in adjacent vertebrae. Data is generated via the algorithm and compared against the expected behavior of the surgically implanted accelerometers as if they were connected to a rigid body, thus determining the level of success of a spinal fusion procedure for those adjacent segments. The apparatus may be utilized with or without spinal stabilization hardware, and with or without fusion cages or artificial discs. The vertebral processor is supplemented by an external system worn by the patient, which provides for an inductive charging power source and for data transfer.
Field of Use: The Vertebral Body Motion Sensor (VBMS) was envisioned as a SMART device that would allow physicians to monitor a patient's spinal alignment after spinal fusion surgery. The VBMS utilized an array of accelerometers attached to the sides of a patient's vertebrae The VBMS monitors the movement of the vertebrae through a sophisticated algorithm that can track and compare the position of the vertebrae against the optimum positions of alignment post-surgery. By being able to supply a physician with this precise data, any potential variances that might indicate misalignment or a failure of the fusion surgery can be immediately recognized and corrective action is taken.