It appears we may finally have a solution for damaged spines. The
actual surgery is pretty scary as it is way to easy to cut
significant nerves while installing such a device. Otherwise it is a
new option that like knee replacement will soon become common enough
to have special facilities involved as happened to joint repair and
laser eye surgery.
I also suspect that improvements will come quickly as the problem is
simply huge and victims are highly motivated.
Beyond all that we are also entering a world in which the collagen
can be formed up to replace the damage and stem cells infiltrated to
rebuild the bone and anything else.
Thus holding off as much as possible may be desirable in the majority
of cases.
09:25 June 13, 2012
Spinal Stenosis
Relief - www.BC-BackPain.com
The soft,
collagen-rich shock absorbers in our backs, known as intervertebral
discs, both add to our height (a full quarter of the spinal column's
total length) and cushion our vertebrae from contacting one another.
Unfortunately, aging, accidents and overuse can damage them and lead
to the costly phenomenon of chronic back pain – roughly US$100
billion is spent annually on treatment in the U.S.
alone.Replacement of damaged discs, rather than spinal fusion,
is an option that's growing in popularity, especially because it
helps maintain mobility in the spine. Now, a team from Brigham Young
University (BYU) has unveiled their new artificial disc, a compliant
mechanism that they believe has the potential to restore quality of
life to millions of those with injured spines.
Designed by BYU
engineering professors Anton Bowden, Larry Howell and former BYU
student Peter Halverson, the jointless elastic device is flexible
enough to allow movement, but durable enough to withstand the
sometimes crushing pressures that build up between the vertebra of
the spine. The team's study will be published in an upcoming issue of
the International Journal of Spine Surgery.
“Low back pain has
been described as the most severe pain you can experience that won’t
kill you,” Bowden said. “This device has the potential to
alleviate that pain and restore the natural motion of the spine –
something current procedures can’t replicate.” Spinal fusion,
currently the most common procedure in addressing damaged discs,
leaves more than half of patients dissatisfied, likely due to the
drastic reduction in mobility it causes.
BYU engineering
professors Anton Bowden (left) and Larry Howell (right) examine their
artificial disc implant
Howell is a leading
expert in compliant mechanisms – deformable devices such as archery
bows and tweezers. He and Bowden had student engineers construct
various prototype discs which they first tested mechanically and then
in spines removed from cadavers.
“To mimic the
response of the spine is very difficult because of the constrained
space and the sophistication of the spine and its parts,” Howell
said. “A compliant mechanism is more human-like, more natural, and
the one we’ve created behaves like a healthy disc.”
BYU licensed the
technology to Utah-based company Crocker Spinal Technologies, which
plans to develop the product for market release as early as next
year. That's potentially welcome news for the many who currently pay
the stiff price of chronic back pain.
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