"Smart Stabilization" is Orthonex's patent-pending smart device technology for dynamic stabilization of the spine.  Smart Stabilization is designed to offer post-operative and non-invasive adjustment of spinal biodynamics to address changing clinical needs and changes in patient activity.  The long-term goal is real time adjustment of spinal biodynamics to match changes in patient activity during the day.  Smart Stabilization technology is under development and is not yet approved by the FDA for patent care.

Smart Stabilization technology uses two or more extension-resisting members and a compression-resisting member to connect two or more spinal vertebrae.  The compression-resisting member acts as a fulcrum.  Post-operative and non-invasive adjustments of the tension, length, width, and/or torsion of the extension-resisting members change the relative movements, positions, or both movements and positions of the vertebrae to which the extension-resisting members are connected.   These adjustments may be done by a human operator, done automatically by a control unit, or done by a combination of human and automatic means.  These adjustments can include real-time responses to information from a sensor concerning skeletal movement and/or patient activity. 
 

By way of an analogy, the first cardiac pacemakers did not adjust pacing in response to changes in patient activity.  However, pacemakers have evolved since then and today's pacemakers are "smart" devices.  These "smart" pacemakers offer sophisticated logic control units, sensors, and feedback algorithms that adjust pacing in real time based on changing patient clinical needs and activities.  In some respects, today's orthopedic devices are where pacemakers were many years ago.  Today's orthopedic devices are not "smart" devices that offer real-time adjustment of spinal biodynamics.  However, Smart Stabilization technology has the potential to help to pioneer the evolution of a new generation of "smart" orthopedic devices to adjust skeletal biodynamics to address changing clinical needs and changes in patient activity in real time.

Smart Stabilization technology has several potential advantages over currently available options for spinal stabilization:

Compared to vertebral fusion, Smart Stabilization technology has the potential to: not undesirably restrict natural spine movement (spinal flexion, extension, lateral bending, and torsion) in the affected segments; cause less stress and degeneration of spinal segments adjacent to the affected segments (a phenomenon called "transition syndrome"); cause less bone loss in the affected segments; and be a reversible procedure.

Compared to current options for dynamic stabilization of the spine with adjustable-length rigid members that connect members of the spinal column, Smart Stabilization technology has the potential to provide much better control and flexibility of movement within the desired range of motion and also offers gradually-increasing resistance as the boundaries of this range of motion are approached. 

Compared to current options for dynamic stabilization of the spine with adjustable-length members that resist both expansion and compression, but are laterally flexible, Smart Stabilization technology has the potential to provide much better control of allowable movement within the desired range of motion and gradual resistance as the boundaries of this range of motion are approached.  The structural members used in Smart Stabilization technology are also less likely to weaken or fail with repeated movement because it has separate members for flexible resistance to expansion and for resistance to compression.  Separating these functions into different members allows structures and materials that are optimally targeted for these different functions, instead of trying to have a single member be both flexible and resist compression.