Ti–Ni Rods with Variable Stiffness for Spine Stabilization: Manufacture and Biomechanical Evaluation

A new concept of monolithic spinal rods with variable flexural stiffness is proposed to reduce the risk of adjacent segment degeneration and vertebral fracture, while providing adequate stability to the spine. The variability of mechanical properties is generated by locally annealing Ti–Ni shape memory alloy rods. Ten-minute Joule effect annealing allows the restoration of the superelasticity in the heated portion of the rod. Such processing also generates a mechanical property gradient between the heated and the unheated zones. A numerical model simulating the annealing temperature and the distributions of the mechanical properties was developed to optimize the Joule-heating strategy and to modulate the rod’s overall flexural stiffness. Subsequently, the rod model was included in a finite element model of a porcine lumbar spine to study the effect of the rod’s stiffness profiles on the spinal biomechanics. © 2016, ASM International.