A device mimicking the biomechanical characteristics of crocodile skull for lumbar fracture reduction

Open surgery is currently the main treatment method for the lumbar burst fracture with neurological deficit but may irreversibly disrupt the lumbar anatomy. The minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques have recently gained increasing attention. However, their use is still limited to lumbar burst fractures mainly due to their difficulties in burst fracture reduction and decompression. Here we present a novel bio-inspired MIS device which can be used with an endoscope to reset the bone fragments retropulsed into the spinal canal within the wounded vertebral body. Its head jaw mimics the biomechanical characteristics of a crocodile rostrum to improve the performance in gripping and moving bone pieces in the confined space of a vertebral body. This study may be capable of converting the posterior open surgeries to the MIS procedures, and expands the use of the MIS techniques in the treatment of lumbar burst fractures.