Introducer drill
A steerable, or curveable, introducer drill to access a target treatment region within bone along a curved trajectory is disclosed. The drill may include a drive shaft including a proximal rotational member, a distal drill tip, and an elongate shaft portion extending from the proximal rotational member to the distal drill tip. The distal drill tip may be sharp and include cutting flutes. The drill may also include an outer tube surrounding the drive shaft. A distal end portion of the outer tube may include a segmented tube section configured to facilitate controlled bending of the segmented tube section of the outer tube. The drill may also include an actuator operably coupled to the drive shaft and adapted to apply tension to the drive shaft which, in turn, causes the segmented tube section of the outer tube to bend.
1 . A curveable introducer drill configured to access a target treatment region within hard bone along a curved trajectory, the drill comprising:
a drive shaft comprising a proximal rotational paddle, a distal drill tip, and an elongate shaft portion extending from the proximal rotational paddle to the distal drill tip,
wherein the distal drill tip is pointed and comprises top and side cutting flutes;
an outer tube surrounding the drive shaft, the outer tube comprising a proximal housing at its proximal end,
wherein the proximal rotational paddle extends out of a proximal end of the proximal housing of the outer tube;
wherein one side of a distal end portion of the outer tube comprises a segmented tube section comprised of tube segments and slits configured to facilitate controlled bending of the segmented tube section of the outer tube in a single known direction; and
an actuator comprising a lever operably coupled to the drive shaft and a compression spring surrounding the drive shaft, positioned within the proximal housing and mechanically coupled to the proximal end of the outer tube,
wherein actuation of the lever compresses the compression spring and applies tension to the drive shaft which, in turn, exerts a lateral force on the segmented tube section of the outer tube to cause the controlled bending of the segmented tube section in the single known direction.
2 . The drill of claim 1 , further comprising: a bushing positioned between a distal edge of the outer tube and a proximal edge of the distal drill tip.
3 . The drill of claim 1 , wherein the outer tube comprises a shape memory material that is shape set to have a straight configuration when unconstrained.
4 . The drill of claim 1 , wherein the proximal housing of the outer tube comprises an indicator configured to indicate the single known direction.
5 . The drill of claim 1 , further comprising an inner tube within the outer tube and surrounding the drive shaft, wherein the inner tube is attached to the distal end of the drive shaft, and wherein the inner tube is configured to apply compression to the outer tube and force it to apply lateral force.
6 . The drill of claim 1 , wherein the outer tube comprises a conductive portion configured to form a proximal electrode of a bipolar electrode pair with the drill tip functioning as a distal electrode of the bipolar electrode pair when radiofrequency energy is applied to the drill tip via an electrically conductive wire coupled between the drill tip and a radiofrequency generator.
7 . The drill of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the outer tube comprises a conformal, anodized coating.
8 . The drill of claim 7 , wherein the coating is not electrically conductive.
9 . The drill of claim 1 , wherein the actuator comprises a pull wire assembly.
10 . The drill of claim 1 , further comprising one or more sensors configured to sense a presence or location of nerves within bone.