Carbon Design Group won a 2013 Good Design Award for the Medtronic Kyphon Inflation Syringe.
The syringe is used in spinal surgery to treat fractured vertebra. Roughly 700,000 spinal fractures occur yearly in the U.S. alone. Fractured vertebrae can compress into a wedge shape, resulting in a curved spine and stooped posture. Patients suffer significant pain and limited mobility.
The Kyphon Inflation Syringe is capable of dispensing contrast fluid to inflate a balloon within a fractured vertebra, thus creating a cavity within the bone which can be filled with bone cement. This procedure is known as balloon kyphoplasty, and has been shown to result in reduced pain and increased mobility. Since two syringes are most commonly used during the procedure-one to inflate a balloon on each side of the vertebra-a simple V-bracket was developed. One syringe snaps into each "leg" of the bracket, joining the two syringes into one device and making it possible to handle both syringes while grasping only one.
The Kyphon Inflation Syringe is engineered to be capable of withstanding a pressure of 700 psi within an ergonomic design. It's an important part of a minimally invasive procedure which provides much needed pain relief to vertebral fracture sufferers.