Patient-Specific Acetabular Alignment Guide
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current orthopedic surgical methods for acetabular implantation lack precise patient-specific alignment, leading to potential misalignment and complications during joint replacement or revision surgeries.
Innovation Solution
A patient-specific acetabular alignment guide and inserter system are developed, utilizing three-dimensional models of the acetabulum to create custom guides and adapters that conform to individual patient anatomy, allowing for precise alignment and orientation of acetabular implants at specific anteversion and abduction angles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a standardized acetabular implantation approach is used, then the device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but the manufacturing precision and positioning accuracy of the implant deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment guide is divided into multiple components: a patient-specific guide body with bone engagement surfaces, separate alignment pins, and modular adapter interfaces. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall system precision without excessive complexity
Solution Approach 2:
Patient-specific 3D models and planning are performed pre-operatively to design custom alignment guides that precisely match the patient's anatomy. The guides are manufactured before surgery with pre-determined alignment parameters, eliminating the need for complex intraoperative adjustments and achieving high precision without increasing operational complexity
2Measurement precision
If a patient-specific customized approach is used, then the positioning accuracy and surgical precision are improved, but the ease of manufacture and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Patient-specific 3D scans and models serve as digital copies of the patient's unique acetabular anatomy. These digital models are used to design and manufacture custom alignment guides that precisely replicate the patient's bone geometry, enabling high-precision positioning while streamlining the manufacturing process through digital fabrication methods
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment guides incorporate patient-specific parameters such as unique bone surface geometries, optimal implant orientation angles (anteversion and abduction), and customized pin placement locations. These parameters are determined pre-operatively from 3D imaging and integrated into the guide design, achieving precise alignment without requiring complex manufacturing procedures
3Reliability
If alignment pins are removed after guide removal, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability and positioning stability of the implant deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment pins are designed to be received within adapter components that attach to the implant or inserter. The adapter contains the pin alignment features, creating a nested structure where the pin is protected and maintained during the transition from guide to implant, ensuring positioning stability without requiring the pins to remain exposed or be re-secured
4Manufacturing precision
If a non-customized acetabular guide is used, then the ease of operation is improved, but the surgical precision and patient-specific alignment deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patient-specific alignment guide is designed to self-align with the patient's unique bone anatomy through custom-matched engagement surfaces. The guide automatically positions itself correctly on the patient's acetabulum without requiring complex alignment procedures by the surgeon, achieving high precision while maintaining ease of operation through intuitive, anatomy-matched design
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 1A~2
Figure 3~3B
AI summary
An acetabular device includes a patient-specific acetabular alignment guide (400) including a bone engagement surface (408). The bone engagement surface has a first portion (402) configured and shaped to be conforming and complementary to an acetabular rim surface (84) and a second portion (404) configured and shaped to be conforming and complementary to a periacetabular area of an acetabulum (82) of a patient. The acetabular alignment guide includes a plurality of guiding formations (406) extending through the second portion for guiding a oplurality of alignment pins (420) therethrough. The bone engagement surface and the plurality of guiding formations are prepared from a three-dimensional model of the acetabulum of the specific patient reconstructed pre-operatively from a scan of the patient.