Upper estimates suggest that spinal herniated discs affect as many as 2% of adults within a year, often causing debilitating pain and temporary disability. Despite their prevalence, current treatment options are limited to helping the body heal naturally or complete removal of the disc to fuse the superior and anterior vertebrae of the affected disc, permanently limiting mobility in the patient. As such, an improvement in intervention options is necessary to better outcomes for patients. This project aims to create a spinal herniated disc augmentation that can replace the unhealthy tissue in an L4-L5 lumbar herniated disc while preserving mobility and the mechanical properties of the disc. The disc augmentation consists of a hydrogel-filled PTFE enclosure which is held in place by a titanium anchor attached to the superior vertebrae. FEA analysis of the device demonstrates that the assembly experiences at most 2.359E4 Pa which provides this model with a factor of safety of 876 about the physical properties of the chosen materials. Physical testing showed that the half-sac model can support over 500N of force encompassing physiological ranges. These results show that the design is compatible with implantation and can suitably act as groundwork for further development of the augmentation device.
GOALS
Replication of the mechanical properties of the Intervertebral Disc
Pain relief in patients' post-surgery recovery
Preserving the range of motion found in undamaged lumbar discs
Ensuring the implant can be used in noninvasive procedures