A finiteness result for commuting squares of matrix algebras

We consider a condition for non-degenerate commuting squares of matrix algebras (finite dimensional von Neumann algebras) called the \emph{span condition}, which in the case of the $n$-dimensional standard spin models is shown to be satisfied if and only if $n$ is prime. We prove that the commuting squares satisfying the span condition are isolated among all commuting squares (modulo isomorphisms). In particular, they are finiteley many for any fixed dimension. Also, we give a conceptual proof of previous constructions of certain one-parameter families of biunitaries.