Adjustable Alignment Tool for Selective Joint Prosthesis Implantation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current orthopedic procedures for joint replacement, such as total knee arthroplasty, often require replacing entire articulating regions, which may not be necessary and can result in unnecessary bone or cartilage removal, and lack the ability to perform multiple cuts aligned relative to a single initial cut, limiting precision and bone retention.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for positioning and implanting prostheses that include alignment tools with adjustable mechanisms, allowing for the alignment of multiple resections relative to a first resection on a single bone, enabling the use of single or multi-piece prostheses to maintain natural articulation and alignment, and allowing for precise positioning of implants without fixed interconnection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a total knee arthroplasty replaces the entire articulation of the femur and tibia, then the joint function is restored, but unnecessary bone and cartilage are removed
Solution Approach 1:
The prosthesis is divided into multiple separate components (femoral component, tibial component, patellar component) that can be selectively implanted. This segmentation allows the surgeon to replace only the damaged portions of the joint while preserving healthy bone and cartilage, rather than replacing the entire articulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment tool provides different alignment capabilities for different portions of the joint. The first alignment portion aligns the femoral component while the second alignment portion aligns the tibial component, allowing each implant to be positioned with optimal local alignment relative to its respective bone surface.
2Ease of manufacture
If a single piece prosthesis is used to replace the entire joint, then implantation is simplified, but precision in positioning multiple articulating surfaces is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment tool serves as an intermediary device between the surgeon and the multiple prosthesis components. It provides reference surfaces and alignment mechanisms that ensure precise positioning of each component relative to the bone and to each other, achieving high positioning accuracy without requiring the components to be pre-assembled as a single piece.
3Productivity
If multiple cuts are made on a bone without alignment to a first cut, then the procedure is faster, but the alignment between different resected portions is imprecise
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment tool is positioned and secured to the bone before making the cuts. It provides pre-established alignment references that guide subsequent resections, ensuring that all cuts are precisely aligned relative to the first cut and to each other, thereby maintaining high positioning accuracy throughout the procedure.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for positioning an implant system in anatomy is disclosed. The apparatus can include an alignment member operable to contact an implant portion, a bone, or other appropriate portion. The method can include using the apparatus to assist in positioning a single or multi-piece implant member. Also, a method of aligning a first implant position relative to another implant position is disclosed.