It has been known to use growth-modulating devices for the correction of spinal deformities. To date, there has been much improvement in instrumentation technologies, allowing the development of several new devices and approaches. Application of the technology is aimed at reducing, halting or, ideally, reversing the progression of curves in spines with idiopathic scoliosis. In brief, fusionless implants utilizing growth modulation may be considered as a form of internal bracing, applying static forces between pairs of vertebrae. The concept lies upon the theory that manipulation of local vertebral geometry (as a result of controlling growth) will allow the correction of global spinal curvatures that are phenotypic to spinal deformities.
These devices are based on static loads and do not provide correctional forces that are tailored to be responsive to patient positioning to provide initial and long term scoliotic correction. As a result, some prior art fusionless devices do not offer the adaptive correction in all three anatomical planes and, given their position and resulting posterior force vectors, this may lead to additional deformities such a hypokyphosis.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds