Spinal Cavity Creator

In this project, I iteratively designed (via CAD, 3D Printing and Machining) a Spinal Cavity Creator capable of removing cylindrical-shaped intervertebral disc space material to aid TLIF surgeries for Degenerative Spondylolisthesis. Specifically, this involved conducting a modular design approach as part of 4 distinct teams: 1. Mechanical, responsible for design of the actual mechanical drill bit and shaft interfaced to a pneumatic drill chuck, together with a guide and mount attached to a spinal cross-linker and an arm that would guide a linear stage containing the drill chuck, 2. Image Guidance, responsible for writing scripts to enable determination of the correct trajectory for drilling via image registration using pre-op MRI and real-time CT images, 3. Sensing, responsible for design of appropriate electronic/mechanical sensing equipment that would prevent contact with blood vessels and nerve roots near the foramen, and, 4. Testing, responsible for design of a fully-integrated test-bench for testing each of the aforementioned modules and verifying operation of the fully assembled drill.