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Final Plug and Anchor Design
Final Plug and Anchor Design
Our final design for our SpineDAD device includes a polycaprolactone (PCL) plug to seal the herniation, a titanium anchor to secure the plug, and two titanium screws. With this final design, we are able to significantly reduce the amount of protrusion when loading spine models. Additionally, having this plug and anchor design allows us to customize the size of each part based on the severity of the patient's spinal disc herniation.
Final CAD Design
Final CAD Design
The final CAD design assembly is shown above to display how the components will be assembled once they are implemented onto a spine through a microdiscectomy. From this, we ensure the plug is designed to hold the herniation site near the posterior region of the vertebrae to alleviate pressure on spinous nerves. This is then connected to the anchor through who tapered protrusions and the anchor is secured onto the superior vertebrae through two 1-inch screws.
Final Physical Prototypes
Final Physical Prototypes
The final design for the PCL plug includes a curvature that matches the natural curvature of the vertebral disc shown in the top picture so that it fits comfortably and reduces both nucleus pulposus leakage and annulus protrusion. We use polycaprolactone (PCL) for the plug which is a biodegradable polyester with a melting point at around 60°C. With this, we can use the resin-printed mold in the middle picture to shape the melted PCL and allow it to harden into our molds to form the shape of the finalized plug design shown in the bottom picture which can hold 400N of shear force.
Thanks to the help of Watershed Idea Foundry, they were able to use a Renishaw Titanium Printer to create titanium prints of our plug, anchor, and screws that we used for our final design. The anchor includes a 3° tapered design for the protrusions which allows it to secure onto the PCL plug. Our anchor also includes extrusions to fit the screw head in flush with the anchor and rounded fillets on the corners and sides to prevent harmful interactions with surrounding tissue, muscle and nerves.
Done By: Patrick Amog
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