Motility determination device, for areas of spine, comprising joint elements connected to pedicle screws

摘要

Two pedicle screws (8) are attached to the vertebrae (7) to be checked with one end and to two coupling elements (6) with the opposite ends. The measuring device provided with the coupling elements (6) has two indication levers (1, 2) connected by a distance measuring element (3) designed as a hexapodic linear potentiometer arrangement facilitating a three-dimensional motion of the levers (1, 2) and the sampling of the data. Each of the levers (1, 2) is also fitted with a tri-axial torque sensor (4). A microcomputer for data processing and storage is also incorporated, which can interface with an external computer over a wireless link. An independent claim is included for a method of determining spinal motility using the device of the invention.