Design, modeling and experimental evaluation of a minimally invasive cage for spinal fusion surgery utilizing superelastic Nitinol hinges Article (Web of Science)

abstract

  • Spinal fusion surgery is performed to alleviate low back pain, and a cage implant is a spacer that sits in between two vertebrae to allow for bone growth and fusion, all while relieving compression of the spinal cord. This paper presents the design, modeling, and experimental evaluation of a minimally invasive cage which utilizes superelastic Nitinol elliptical shaped hinges. The actuation mechanism is presented and the employed additive manufacturing technique is discussed. The modeling approach is also introduced and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the model.

authors

publication date

  • 2015

webpage

published in

number of pages

  • 7

start page

  • 631

end page

  • 638

volume

  • 26

issue

  • 6