US-20260123966-A1 - ADJUSTABLE IMPLANT

US20260123966A1US 20260123966 A1US20260123966 A1US 20260123966A1US-20260123966-A1

Abstract

One aspect of the disclosure relates to an aspect of the disclosure relates to an adjustable implant including: a housing; a first adjustable member at least partially positioned within the housing and moveable relative to the housing; and a first actuation assembly positioned within the first adjustable member and configured to move the first adjustable member relative to the housing.

Inventors

Jorge Lopez Camacho
Shawn Placie

Assignees

NUVASIVE SPECIALIZED ORTHOPEDICS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251231

Claims (16)

1 . An adjustable implant comprising: a housing having an internal thread and defining a cavity within the housing; an adjustable member at least partially positioned within the housing and moveable relative to the housing within the cavity, the adjustable member including a transducer adjacent an outer wall thereof; an actuation assembly positioned within the adjustable member and configured to move the adjustable member relative to the housing, the actuation assembly including: an actuator configured to be activated by an external adjustment device; a gear assembly coupled to the actuator; and an output driver coupled to the gear assembly; and a sleeve located radially between the actuation assembly and the adjustable member, the sleeve including a load cell coupled with the transducer.
2 . The adjustable implant of claim 1 , wherein the transducer is configured to transmit signals about a load on the adjustable implant detected by the load cell.
3 . The adjustable implant of claim 1 , wherein the sleeve is configured to move independently of the adjustable member to enable measurement of a load on the adjustable implant.
4 . The adjustable implant of claim 1 , further comprising a battery slot in the adjustable member and a battery in the battery slot.
5 . The adjustable implant of claim 4 , wherein the transducer is connected with the battery.
6 . The adjustable implant of claim 1 , wherein the transducer is positioned such that the housing does not obstruct signal transmission to or from the transducer while the adjustable implant is in a fully retracted state.
7 . The adjustable implant of claim 1 , wherein the transducer includes an ultrasound transducer.
8 . The adjustable implant of claim 7 , wherein the ultrasound transducer includes a piezoelectric transducer.
9 . The adjustable implant of claim 8 , wherein the piezoelectric transducer is partially arcuate to enable directional control of ultrasonic signals.
10 . The adjustable implant of claim 9 , wherein the piezoelectric transducer has a tuned signal strength in at least one direction.
11 . The adjustable implant of claim 8 , wherein the piezoelectric transducer abuts an outer wall of the adjustable member.
12 . The adjustable implant of claim 11 , wherein the piezoelectric transducer is bonded to an inner surface of the outer wall of the adjustable member without an air gap therebetween.
13 . A method comprising: positioning the piezoelectric transducer of claim 8 in the adjustable member.
14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising bonding the piezoelectric transducer to an inner surface of an outer wall of the adjustable member.
15 . A method comprising: measuring the load on the adjustable implant of claim 1 .
16 . The method of claim 50 , further comprising actuating the actuator to adjust the adjustable implant based on the measured load.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/142,762, filed May 3, 2023, which is incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes. TECHNICAL FIELD The subject matter described herein relates to adjustable implants, including intramedullary distraction and compression devices and/or adjustable spinal rods. BACKGROUND Distraction osteogenesis is a technique which has been used to grow new bone in patients with a variety of defects. For example, limb lengthening is a technique in which the length of a bone, for example a femur or tibia, may be increased. By creating a corticotomy or osteotomy in the bone, which is a cut through the bone, the two resulting sections of bone may be moved apart at a particular rate, such as one (1.0) mm per day, allowing new bone to regenerate between the two sections as they move apart. This technique of limb lengthening may be used in cases where one limb is longer than the other, such as in a patient whose prior bone break did not heal correctly, or in a patient whose growth plate was diseased or damaged prior to maturity. In some patients, stature lengthening is desired, and is achieved by lengthening both femurs and/or both tibias to increase the patient's height. Limb lengthening is often performed using external fixation, wherein an external distraction frame is attached to the two sections of bone by pins which pass through the skin. The pins can be sites for infection and are often painful for the patient, as the pin placement site or “pin tract” remains a somewhat open wound throughout the treatment process. The external fixation frames are also bulky, making it difficult for patient to comfortably sit, sleep, and move. Intramedullary adjustable implants such as lengthening devices also exist, such as those described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0060336, which is incorporated by reference herein. However, certain conventional intramedullary adjustable implants can be bulky, making them impractical for smaller bones. Further, it can be difficult to precisely determine the load on certain conventional intramedullary adjustable implants, e.g., through indirect load measurement on pins. Even further, certain conventional intramedullary adjustable implants can suffer from communication-based issues such as signal interference from the implant components. SUMMARY All examples and features mentioned below can be combined in any technically possible way. A first aspect of the disclosure provides an adjustable implant including: a housing having an internal thread and defining a cavity within the housing; an adjustable member at least partially positioned within the housing and moveable relative to the housing within the cavity; an actuation assembly positioned within the adjustable member and configured to move the adjustable member relative to the housing, the actuation assembly including: an actuator configured to be activated by an external adjustment device; a gear assembly coupled to the actuator; and an output driver coupled to the gear assembly; and a sleeve positioned radially between the actuation assembly and the adjustable member, the sleeve configured to move independently of the adjustable member to enable measurement of a load on the adjustable implant. A second aspect of the disclosure provides an adjustable implant including: a housing having an internal thread and defining a cavity within the housing; an adjustable member at least partially positioned within the housing and moveable relative to the housing within the cavity, the adjustable member including a transducer adjacent an outer wall thereof; an actuation assembly positioned within the adjustable member and configured to move the adjustable member relative to the housing, the actuation assembly including: an actuator configured to be activated by an external adjustment device; a gear assembly coupled to the actuator; and an output driver coupled to the gear assembly; and a sleeve located radially between the actuation assembly and the adjustable member, the sleeve including a load cell coupled with the transducer. In certain implementations, the sleeve surrounds the actuation assembly. In certain implementations, the sleeve includes a load cell contained in the adjustable member. In certain implementations, the load cell is coupled with an end of the actuation assembly. In certain implementations, the load cell permits measurement of the load on the adjustable implant from inside the adjustable implant. In certain implementations, the load cell permits measurement of the load on the adjustable implant without a direct measurement of load on a bone anchor coupling the adjustable implant with a bone of a patient. In certain implementations, the load cell permits measurement of both a compressive load and a tensile load on the adjustable implant. In certain implementations, the implant further inc