An innovative shape memory alloy actuated cage has been developed for spinal fusion surgery. Spinal fusion surgery is performed on people suffering from low back pain. The viscoelastic spinal disc between the two vertebrae can degenerate in some fashion, such as herniation, and the space needs to be restored to relive the pressure on the nerves within the lower back. There are two main parts to a spinal disc, the annulus fibrosis and the nucleolus. The annulus fibrosis is a cartilaginous structure and is of interest to preserve. Therefore a minimally invasive cage utilizing superelastic elements has been developed. Furthermore, the cage safety and efficacy has been proven and will be presented here. Within this work, the efficacy and longevity of the cage will be presented. To this end, ASTM testing for spinal implants has been conducted on an electromechanical test system capable of inducing simultaneous axial and torsional forces.

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